(1) Last November, Cliff Robinson averaged 21 minutes a game before getting injured. He averaged 5.4 points and two and a half rebounds and played below-average defense. Those twenty-one minutes will be spread between Boone, Magloire, and possibly Malik Allen--they will be better.</p> (2) Everyone talks generally about how Boki improved as the season went on, and how he is just brimming with confidence right now. But, putting some numbers to it,did you know that last November he played 16 minutes a game, averaging 5.0 points on 37% shooting? In comparison, after the all-star break, he averaged 12.1 points in 24 minutes, on 50% shooting? If he can just replicate that to start the season, the Nets will score a half-dozen more points a game.</p> (3) Marcus played 18 minutes a game, while still trying to figure things out (he was actually decent until the final third of the season, statistically), especially on defense and how to run the team. Darryl Armstrong will be better.</p> (4) Josh Boone hit 61% of his shots after the All-Star break, averaging 5.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in 13.8 minutes. That's after trying to figure things out on the fly after missing training camp and the beginning of the season. I expect him to be BETTER than those second-half numbers. I'll go with 8.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in roughly 18-20 minutes.</p> (5) Antoine Wright played an amazing 25 minutes a game in November . . . and scored just 6.5 points on 44% shooting (4.4 rebounds, for what that's worth). By the end of the year, his minutes were down, but his per-minute production was up. He'll be better than last November, guaranteed.</p> (6) Mikki Moore was a non-factor last November; he played 12 minutes a game, scoring just over three points and pulling down 2.5 rebounds.</p> (7) Eddie House--their sniper--didn't even PLAY until December.</p> Upshot: All the supplemental pieces are IMPROVED over what they werelast year. Kidd is admittedly in better shape than he usually is to start a season. Carter appears happy. RJ is healthy. As I see it, the ONLY piece that is a step back from last year at this time is Krstic, who is a complete unknown.</p> There will be no 11-18 start this year. Reverse it.</p>
Well written, Dumpy. These are all great reasons why we should do better...Namely, no Cliffy, and improved youngin's.</p> Not sure why you included Mikki, and why you excluded Magloire...I maybe woulda understood #6 if you put something like "Last year, we weren't deep at all with big men--no Boone, Mikki didn't play, all we had was Cliffy--this year, we have Boone, Magloire, Williams, and maybe even Allen to start the season alongside Krstic and Collins."</p> and I figure 7 and 2 go together, since now Boki will be our Sniper, and we'll have him to start this season.</p> Reading stuff like this just keeps getting me more and more excited to start the season.</p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (peg182)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> Well written, Dumpy. These are all great reasons why we should do better...Namely, no Cliffy, and improved youngin's.</p> Not sure why you included Mikki, and why you excluded Magloire...I maybe woulda understood #6 if you put something like "Last year, we weren't deep at all with big men--no Boone, Mikki didn't play, all we had was Cliffy--this year, we have Boone, Magloire, Williams, and maybe even Allen to start the season alongside Krstic and Collins."</p> and I figure 7 and 2 go together, since now Boki will be our Sniper, and we'll have him to start this season.</p> Reading stuff like this just keeps getting me more and more excited to start the season.</p> </div></p> Yeah, it's hard to remember what a big role Cliff had for much of the year last year, given his total lack of production. Actually, he had a couple of good games in mid-November, right before he got hurt, which opened up more time for Mikki and Boki.</p> I included Mikki as a preemptive strike against those that will argue that the team will suffer because he's no longer here. Mikki was unbelievable in the second half of the season, but he contributed little at the start--I'm just trying to point out that, just looking at the first fifth or quarter of the season, he won't be missed. I guess I could have added that the Magloire/Malik combination will be AT LEAST as valuable as Mikki was last November.</p> I think (7) and (5) go together. Wright played 25 minutes a night because House was injured. Wright's minutes dropped when House returned (until RJ got hurt).</p> The other thing I didn't mention is that the added depth will allow Collins to play less. He was overused lat season. He should NEVER be on the court when the big three aren't there also, as far as I'm concerned (or at least when a big rebounding PF/C isn't next to him). Last November he played 25 minutes a game, which is just too much. Especially after Cliff got hurt, he was regularly playing more than 30 minutes a game.</p> </p>
Good list there, Dumpy. I would add that RJ is, from all accounts, in better health than he was last year, too. He was coming off the ankle injury/surgery from the 06 playoffs and promptly injured (the same one, the other one?) very early in the season. Never was himself last year.</p> I will also add that the Nets' two best players are presumably in a better psychological place instead of in the midst of divorces and (in one case) public scandal. I especially think that will be evident with Vince, who didn't really play consistently until the second half of the season.</p> It also sounds like Vince has been working more on his jumper . . . great news as far as I'm concerned. A few days after the ouster against Cleveland he was in the gym working with the shooting coach. And in the televised practice the other day, you could hear him ask if Boki and Antoine wanted to shoot with him when practice was over. People are always on about him driving more while conveniently ignoring that the outside shot is a HUGE part of the setup for his drives. It hasn't been as consistent as it should be the last two years, and I'm glad that he's realizing a little tinkering and practice is in order.</p> One more thing about Armstrong. The Nets haven't had anyone like him around in the Carter era, that's for sure, and I'm including Jacques Vaughn. Darryl's ball pressure and defensive quickness are tremendous and gives the Nets someone to put in the game when guys like TJ Ford, Jarret Jack, and even Luke Ridnour are torching Kidd.</p>
throw in greater effort to use the motion offense down the stretch. We build nice leads, but go away from the motion in the 4th and that is where we have our problems. To better use our depth, it is important that we run our usual offense, the motion, rather than relying on just Kidd or VC to create offense.</p>
Great points all around. While Mikki was a bit of an unknown player at the beginning of last year, we hopefully won't have that uncertainty again...or will we? I'm really happy to see Krstic going 100% before the preseason, but if he can't go day one we're back to having new players in our starting line up - and then we're backing to having our traditional chemistry blending problems at the start of the season. Malik Allen, and Magloire are both solid pieces but then again so was Vince Carter when he joined the team.</p> I think what can really help this team is if Magloire builds off the success he had yesterday and becomes more 'active.' He was dominant in the post, but what's going to earn him playing time over Allen is the ability to play in the motion offense. If so, watch him beat out all the big men for playing time, including Collins.</p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GMJigga)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> Great points all around. While Mikki was a bit of an unknown player at the beginning of last year, we hopefully won't have that uncertainty again...or will we? I'm really happy to see Krstic going 100% before the preseason, but if he can't go day one we're back to having new players in our starting line up - and then we're backing to having our traditional chemistry blending problems at the start of the season. Malik Allen, and Magloire are both solid pieces but then again so was Vince Carter when he joined the team.</p> I think what can really help this team is if Magloire builds off the success he had yesterday and becomes more 'active.' He was dominant in the post, but what's going to earn him playing time over Allen is the ability to play in the motion offense. If so, watch him beat out all the big men for playing time, including Collins.</p> </div></p> He'll never beat Collins out, the contest is rigged. It's a joke. He could play the best defense in the NBA and Collins will still get the start nod, L. Frank loves him. I know there are plenty "intangibles" Collins provides (as i'm sure someone will soon state after this post), but has anyone done an analysis of how Collins plays with the second unit or how Magloire or Allen play with the starters...not that i've seen. If Collins is so great with helping the starters wouldnt it actually make more sense for him to be in with the second unit as they are more likely to need someone who can set screens to get them open and box out for rebounds and etc. VC, RJ, and even Kidd(though he's not the greatest shooter) can create their own shots better than Nachbar and Wright. I just dont get why we would want to start a game playing 4 on 5 (except against Chicago which would be 4 on 4 due to Ben Wallace).</p>
While Frank does love the intangibles, I don't think that he loves them blindly; meaning if Jamaal can do Collins-work I think we'll see him start.</p> And I think its about optimizing the product you have on the court at any particular time, rather than try to find some balance between first and second units (in reference to why Collins doesn't play with the second team). There's not secret to what Collins brings to the table, his skill sets benefit our 2nd unit too. However if Collins + starters is still better than Magloire + starters you've got to go with Collins in the starting line up. With that being said I'd like to see Magloire play more with the big 3 to really see what he can do.</p>
Darrell Armstrong is such a perfect fit for this team.</p> 1. Kidd respects him enough where he will feel comfortable giving up some minutes. The benefits of that are incredibly important to any hope the Nets have of advancing deep into the playoffs.</p> 2. He will not hinder Marcus Williams' development. Marcus will now be able to play as many or as few minutes as he's earned. Coach Frank has flexibility and options.</p> 3. Even if Armstrong doesn't play one minute this season, his presence is a huge plus. He's crazy. He never stops moving and he never shuts up. He does everything right - and if you are a guy like Josh Boone, you can't slack off for one second watching DA's old ass busting it out there (even in practice).</p> 4. There were too many times last season where Kidd was not able to carry all of the leadership responsibilities for the team. (I actually believe Mikki Moore tried his best to help in this area, but a journeyman like him can only do so much.) It will take a lot of pressure off Kidd if there is someone else to shoulder the load when he isn't up to it.</p> 5. He can guard small, quick guards and has enough respect from the refs to get away with things a young guy like Hite can't get away with. The Nets need this badly. They can't just sag off every small guard. They get hot and burn you. Even bad shooters can look good (Tinsley, Knight, Ford) if they get in a rhythm. The Nets have been inviting this for years.</p> 6. Playoff pressure won't phase him one bit. Remember how cool Lamond Murray was in the playoffs? DA is that cool, but (unlike Murray) he can actually still play. The Nets need that.</p> </p> </p>
Depth up front!</p> The Nets were pathetically weak and thin up front last season. One injury completely transformed them from a balanced team to a perimeter-only bunch of gunners.</p> The group of Krstic, Magloire, Collins, Allen, Boone and Williams is not among the NBA's strongest. There's plenty of questions surrounding each player individually. But as a group, there are good odds that this season that they will be more productive than any group of bigs the Nets have had for a long time.</p> At the very least they will be better able to sustain an injury or two and not have to resort to changing the entire playbook like last year.</p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ghoti)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> Depth up front!</p> The Nets were pathetically weak and thin up front last season. One injury completely transformed them from a balanced team to a perimeter-only bunch of gunners.</p> The group of Krstic, Magloire, Collins, Allen, Boone and Williams is not among the NBA's strongest. There's plenty of questions surrounding each player individually. But as a group, there are good odds that this season that they will be more productive than any group of bigs the Nets have had for a long time.</p> At the very least they will be better able to sustain an injury or two and not have to resort to changing the entire playbook like last year.</p> </div></p> Since we wont get to see too many Nets preseason games I can only base this on the reviews and assessments I have seen. Not only is having that many bigs good from an injury standpoint, assuming Allen stays, they're also versatile. They may not be the greatest individually, but collectively it seems like each one can do something the others cant. You have shotblockers(Boone,Williams), Shooters(Krstic,Allen), Rebounders(Boone,Magloire), and Mr. "Intangibles"(Collins). It's a good mix to have and hopefully game by game Frank mixes and matches according to the opponents and their line ups to maximize the potential of these players.</p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (TheMann)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ghoti)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> Depth up front!</p> The Nets were pathetically weak and thin up front last season. One injury completely transformed them from a balanced team to a perimeter-only bunch of gunners.</p> The group of Krstic, Magloire, Collins, Allen, Boone and Williams is not among the NBA's strongest. There's plenty of questions surrounding each player individually. But as a group, there are good odds that this season that they will be more productive than any group of bigs the Nets have had for a long time.</p> At the very least they will be better able to sustain an injury or two and not have to resort to changing the entire playbook like last year.</p> </div></p> Not only is having that many bigs good from an injury standpoint, assuming Allen stays, they're also versatile.</p> </div></p> Allen is a lock to make the roster.</p> On the "Real Training Camp" special, everyone was gushing about him. Thorn said they have been trying to get him for years.</p> </p>
I remember seeing Malik Allen play @ the RAC in the TOC when he was playing for Shawnee in HS. 11 6 foot and under dead eye white shooters, & Malik Allen, what a crazy team.</p>
