<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> When the Nets confronted Byron Scott in their locker room last month, he was forced to make one season-altering choice: he could join the shouting or turn a cheek and listen. His future depended largely on his reaction. After Jason Kidd lambasted the staff following a 47-point loss in Memphis, Scott vowed to apply Kidd's suggestions to his coaching. Three weeks later, many players say Scott has made good on his promise, significantly changing the way he approaches practices and handles pregame activities. The Nets have responded by winning 11 of their past 14 games and reclaiming first place in the Atlantic Division as they head to Madison Square Garden tonight to face the Knicks. "The staff has done a wonderful job being creative and doing different things to motivate guys," Kidd said. "When everything came out a few weeks ago, they took the challenge ? and so did we." Asked the secret to the Nets' turnaround, Kidd smiled and said, "Maybe we just needed a tirade."</div> New York Times
Thats good to hear. I think Scott has earned the right to get a little lee way in his coaching style & princples. Iam not the biggest fan of some of the coaching substitutions, he has made in big spots of the playoffs& finals these last 2 seasons. but the thruth is that he is a big part of the reason why we got to play in those big games. And I think he deserves some respect for that. Him & Jason Kidd were able to get out all of their petty differences after that huge blowout loss to the Grizz. And that was for the better. Alot of people made fun of the Nets for that loss. But like the old saying goes" sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you can come up". Well that loss was rock bottom for the Nets & now their on the come up. The way the Nets have fought back after that loss shows alot about their character. And B. Scott has alot to do with the character of this team. Because if you havent noticed the Nets play kind of like how B.Scott played when he was with the showtime lakers. They play with a little bit of flash & a little bit of fight& grit. Which is a perfect compliment to have as a team. And like B.Scott has said in the past, "In order to win the eastern Conference championship your going to have to come thru Jersey". And that is the same thing I have been saying all year. I dont care if its the Pistons, the Hornets, Pacers. Who ever your going to have to beat Jeresy 4 times in the Playoffs. And I dont think any of those teams are good enuff to do that.
yup..he was too stiff during those losses... <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It isn't just the Nets' winning percentage that has improved dramatically over the past month or so. Apparently, so has Byron Scott's disposition. "He's having fun a little more," forward Kenyon Martin said of his coach at yesterday's practice, a day before the Nets took on the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. "I think at the beginning of the season, it was more that he knew he had a job to do. I think the contract stuff was maybe bothering him a little bit maybe, and he was approaching it as a job. Now he's having fun with it. We're all having fun, and it's showing on the court." Winning 11 of 14 since Jason Kidd's much-publicized tirade following their Dec. 3 blowout loss to Memphis certainly would be enough to lighten anyone's mood. But Scott, who admitted that he has become looser with the coaching reins, claims he made his turnaround a little before that. "The thing that I was doing was putting too much pressure on these guys, and not allowing them to enjoy the success that we'd had," Scott said. "And it's not saying we're living in the past, but just (we needed to be able to) enjoy some of the things we've done. And I don't think I was allowing us to do that." Scott wouldn't agree with Martin's hypothesis that he had been too hard on the team because he felt pressure to win in the final year of his contract. Rather, he said he drove his players hard because that is the way he was taught a coach had to be.</div> Full Story by COLIN STEPHENSON
