OR do you think this current team can do it as constituted right now??? I feel we can beat the other teams in the east but those 2 are the tests.
What do "WE" have to do? Well first we go to the local butcher and grab what you can, including a steak knife. Then we go to KG's house, and then...... cut him up some really bad steak so he would be sick from bad steak! Good luck.
Well honestly we need a healthy consistent Kristic to beat either one. We need more consistent scoring from our team, we stall to many times and against teams of their caliber ya just can't fall behind like we do.
New Jersey doesn't have a chance of beating Boston and Detroit..just not on the level. Not in the planet.
The Nets are clearly not the same team that played Boston twice earlier this year (once without Carter). And hopefully we're not yet the team we're going to be, assuming Nenad and Marcus regain their form over the next couple of months. But the next game against Boston on Friday should be an interesting gauge. I think the Nets will do well and it will be a close game.
Not to take anything away from Boston, who have been playing out of their minds, but: --They've had NO injuries to speak of. Their top eight players have missed a total of 11 games. Their 9th and tenth guys have played 25 games each, and it's possible that a couple of those absences were coach's decisions. Can this continue? --It's not just their big there I'm talking about, either. They have very little depth in the frontcourt. They have basically four guys: Garnett, Perkins, Glen Davis, and Scalabrine. What if Perkins breaks down and Glen Davis wears down from the long season? There'd be a nick in their armor. --They may be burning all their energy to try to finish first. Sometimes that backfires. --Rajon Rondo has been playing poorly recently. Will he bounce back or he settling into his talent level? --Could they be caught napping by, say, a Wizards team in the first round with a retuning Gil Arenas? What about the Pistons? --well, you could say the same thing about Piston injuries. They haven't had any. Their top seven players have missed a total of nine games. --The Pistons have a solid core, but this is the same core they've had for the past few years and they've stalled out. Obviously, they can be beaten. --the tandem of Antoine Wright and Bobby Jones can shut them down for short periods and exhaust them.
To beat Boston we somehow have to stop the perimeter shooting. If we can force them to score inside and try and KG work on D, perhaps get him into foul trouble... Its sketchy at best. They are just a very complete team and the BIG 3 are good enough individually to hide most of Rondo, Perkins, Davis and Posey's flaws. The only way to beat them is to defend well, hit the outside jumpers and somehow win the battle of the boards. To beat detroit? Shut down Billups. Sheed is definately on the decline but now with a rapidly improving Maxiell (who is more and more the midwest Milsap) there is no net loss to their attacking prowess... Either way Id be REAL scared if we got either in the 1st round of the playoffs. Maybe we can get Dan Ackroyd and Daniel Stern to reprise their roles in "Celtic Pride" but this time abducting Garnett and Hamilton instead of Damon Wayans... Just a thought
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Dumpy @ Jan 7 2008, 10:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Not to take anything away from Boston, who have been playing out of their minds, but: --They've had NO injuries to speak of. Their top eight players have missed a total of 11 games. Their 9th and tenth guys have played 25 games each, and it's possible that a couple of those absences were coach's decisions. Can this continue? --It's not just their big there I'm talking about, either. They have very little depth in the frontcourt. They have basically four guys: Garnett, Perkins, Glen Davis, and Scalabrine. What if Perkins breaks down and Glen Davis wears down from the long season? There'd be a nick in their armor. --They may be burning all their energy to try to finish first. Sometimes that backfires. --Rajon Rondo has been playing poorly recently. Will he bounce back or he settling into his talent level? --Could they be caught napping by, say, a Wizards team in the first round with a retuning Gil Arenas? What about the Pistons? --well, you could say the same thing about Piston injuries. They haven't had any. Their top seven players have missed a total of nine games. --The Pistons have a solid core, but this is the same core they've had for the past few years and they've stalled out. Obviously, they can be beaten. --the tandem of Antoine Wright and Bobby Jones can shut them down for short periods and exhaust them.</div> Those things about Boston are the same things that people have been saying would be a problem at the beginning of the season. Personally, I'm just meticulously waiting...waiting for one of the superstars to get injured, a key role player to get injured, for a few players to get into a funk, or just till they get tired out at the end of the season...then, I'll pop in and say "told ya so". As for the Pistons, they never get injured. They haven't found a replacement for Ben Wallace. And they have a hard time stopping superstars, such as Lebron. So while they are a very, very good team...they're not flawless or unbeatable.
Realistically, for Boston you would have to get their big 3 in foul trouble and then play solid defense so their role players dont beat you. Pistons-do what Cleveland did last year, shut down billups.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Dumpy @ Jan 7 2008, 10:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>--They may be burning all their energy to try to finish first. Sometimes that backfires.</div> That's the one I believe the most in. Enjoy the regular season, Boston fans....Dallas and Phoenix fans always do!
obviously I'd rather be where they are then where we are but still, it's just the regular season and we're not even half way through yet. Anyway, it's vital that the Nets get the #4 or #5 seed, and hopefully won't face Cleveland.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Dumpy @ Jan 8 2008, 09:37 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>obviously I'd rather be where they are then where we are but still, it's just the regular season and we're not even half way through yet. Anyway, it's vital that the Nets get the #4 or #5 seed, and hopefully won't face Cleveland.</div> I think we're in a vastly better position to beat Cleveland this year than we were last year, especially if Krstic ends up coming back. The biggest issue was our weak frontcourt, but the Boone-Williams tandem is not only a pretty decent match-up against Z-Gooden, but they also will be able to consistently beat them down the court. Also, I tend to think RJ plays LeBron better than pretty much anyone else in the league. He's just got the right body type for it.
Allen had a bad couple of games, but Tony Allen and then Glen Davis bailed them out putting up big numbers in those 2 games. So when one of their big 3 were off.....one of their bench players picked up the slack, can that happen over 82, or a 7 game playoff series? Certainly. They aren't unbeatable, not like the MJ Bulls in that 2nd run. You have to attack the paint offensively. Defensively, you just have to make them work harder for their points. I think Detroit is the tougher of the 2 because of their improvements to their bench. Maxiell has gained valuable experience, allowing them to start McDyess without missing a beat. Add Stuckey as an up and comer who will have a say at either guard spots come playoff time.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ly_yng @ Jan 8 2008, 10:40 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Dumpy @ Jan 8 2008, 09:37 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>obviously I'd rather be where they are then where we are but still, it's just the regular season and we're not even half way through yet. Anyway, it's vital that the Nets get the #4 or #5 seed, and hopefully won't face Cleveland.</div> I think we're in a vastly better position to beat Cleveland this year than we were last year, especially if Krstic ends up coming back. The biggest issue was our weak frontcourt, but the Boone-Williams tandem is not only a pretty decent match-up against Z-Gooden, but they also will be able to consistently beat them down the court. Also, I tend to think RJ plays LeBron better than pretty much anyone else in the league. He's just got the right body type for it. </div> ya i'd love to play cleveland. i thought we should have beat them last year and with boone and williams we have rebounders now. last year we know the main reason the cavs were a good team because of how many second, even third chance opportunities they had because of offensive rebounds. with boone and williams capable of grabbing 10 boards a piece, that will limit the offensive rebounds they get. i think that hurts the cavs a lot because that is how they get energy/momentum and points outside of lebron. not to mention you cant count on hughes, so if you clean up around the rim you are hurting the cavs. ya they have lebron and he can be godlike at times, but i rather take my chances with lebron and a crew than two complete teams in boston/detroit. i think anyone would rather have cleveland compared to those two.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (L @ Jan 8 2008, 07:42 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Realistically, for Boston you would have to get their big 3 in foul trouble and then play solid defense so their role players dont beat you. Pistons-do what Cleveland did last year, shut down billups.</div> Shutting down Billups alone won't work. Cleveland had this guy named James that had a transcendent performance.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Dumpy @ Jan 7 2008, 10:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Not to take anything away from Boston, who have been playing out of their minds, but: --They've had NO injuries to speak of. Their top eight players have missed a total of 11 games. Their 9th and tenth guys have played 25 games each, and it's possible that a couple of those absences were coach's decisions. Can this continue? --It's not just their big there I'm talking about, either. They have very little depth in the frontcourt. They have basically four guys: Garnett, Perkins, Glen Davis, and Scalabrine. What if Perkins breaks down and Glen Davis wears down from the long season? There'd be a nick in their armor. --They may be burning all their energy to try to finish first. Sometimes that backfires. --Rajon Rondo has been playing poorly recently. Will he bounce back or he settling into his talent level? --Could they be caught napping by, say, a Wizards team in the first round with a retuning Gil Arenas? What about the Pistons? --well, you could say the same thing about Piston injuries. They haven't had any. Their top seven players have missed a total of nine games. --The Pistons have a solid core, but this is the same core they've had for the past few years and they've stalled out. Obviously, they can be beaten. --the tandem of Antoine Wright and Bobby Jones can shut them down for short periods and exhaust them.</div> i think your optimism is cute but the nets have no chance against detroit or boston
