Blackjack
01-09-2010, 09:53 PM
Nets face perfectly bad storm (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Nets_face_perfectly_bad_storm.html)
Mike Monroe - Mike Monroe
The Nets werethis close to their fourth victory of the season on Friday night in New Orleans.
What happened in the final minute to deny victory to the NBA team most in need of tangible proof that success is possible?
“Two words: Chris Paul,” said head coach Kiki Vandeweghe as he headed for Louis Armstrong Airport on Saturday afternoon for a team flight to San Antonio and a Sunday matchup against the Spurs.
Indeed, the Hornets' All-NBA point guard made the plays that denied victory to a team approaching some ominous milestones. This is what happens when great players are determined to avoid embarrassment.
What the Nets face now is a perfect storm of motivational madness. As losses mount and it gets harder for Nets players to retain a positive outlook, opponents in a league without mercy find extra resolve.
Former Net Richard Jefferson understands.
“People start playing harder against you because they don't want to be the team that ends the streak,” he said. “All of a sudden, instead of teams taking you lightly, you've got teams playing you tougher.”
Ultra-competitive Spurs guard Manu Ginobili stated it simply.
“You can't allow yourself to lose to a team like that,” he said.
What the Nets desperately need is an NBA team willing to believe victory will result from its mere presence on the court against them. That isn't likely to happen when players such as Paul are on the floor.
The 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, whose 9-73 record is the standard for season-long NBA ineptitude, recorded their third victory in the 27th game of that historically awful season.
It took the Nets 32 games to get their third win this season, but they've got some breathing room before they hit the next dreadful checkpoint. The nine-win Sixers lost 14 in a row before getting their fourth victory, in Game 42.
The Nets are still six games shy of that checkpoint, which made Friday's blown opportunity all the more painful.
Vandeweghe was the Nets' general manager before taking over head-coaching chores on Dec. 1, after the Nets lost their 18th in a row and Lawrence Frank was fired. What he inherited was a team physically injured and emotionally dispirited.
The Nets won twice in Vandeweghe's first three games on the bench but have won only one of 12 since.
Committed to development of players who comprise the NBA's youngest starting lineup, Vandeweghe understands there will be more pain before season's end. He is sustained by ongoing effort from young players determined to prove they aren't as bad as perceived, and by the prospect of a sea change this summer — when the Nets will have more salary cap space to use on free agents than any team.
What happens, though, if the Nets are so horrid that not even a second-tier free agent, let alone LeBron James, Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh, would even consider the Nets?
“There's two ways to look at this,” Vandeweghe said. “If you can fast forward to July free agency, which we're clearly some type of player in, you're going to be judged on those days, not today; on what you have in the cupboard, and we do have good young players — Devin Harris, Brook Lopez, Yi Jianlian, Courtney Lee. So the important thing is to develop the young players and keep the foundation solid; develop habits that winning teams have.”
What's really important if the Nets want to be even a fleeting consideration of game-changing free agents is a 10th victory, preferably before the Ides of March.
[email protected]
Mike Monroe - Mike Monroe
The Nets werethis close to their fourth victory of the season on Friday night in New Orleans.
What happened in the final minute to deny victory to the NBA team most in need of tangible proof that success is possible?
“Two words: Chris Paul,” said head coach Kiki Vandeweghe as he headed for Louis Armstrong Airport on Saturday afternoon for a team flight to San Antonio and a Sunday matchup against the Spurs.
Indeed, the Hornets' All-NBA point guard made the plays that denied victory to a team approaching some ominous milestones. This is what happens when great players are determined to avoid embarrassment.
What the Nets face now is a perfect storm of motivational madness. As losses mount and it gets harder for Nets players to retain a positive outlook, opponents in a league without mercy find extra resolve.
Former Net Richard Jefferson understands.
“People start playing harder against you because they don't want to be the team that ends the streak,” he said. “All of a sudden, instead of teams taking you lightly, you've got teams playing you tougher.”
Ultra-competitive Spurs guard Manu Ginobili stated it simply.
“You can't allow yourself to lose to a team like that,” he said.
What the Nets desperately need is an NBA team willing to believe victory will result from its mere presence on the court against them. That isn't likely to happen when players such as Paul are on the floor.
The 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, whose 9-73 record is the standard for season-long NBA ineptitude, recorded their third victory in the 27th game of that historically awful season.
It took the Nets 32 games to get their third win this season, but they've got some breathing room before they hit the next dreadful checkpoint. The nine-win Sixers lost 14 in a row before getting their fourth victory, in Game 42.
The Nets are still six games shy of that checkpoint, which made Friday's blown opportunity all the more painful.
Vandeweghe was the Nets' general manager before taking over head-coaching chores on Dec. 1, after the Nets lost their 18th in a row and Lawrence Frank was fired. What he inherited was a team physically injured and emotionally dispirited.
The Nets won twice in Vandeweghe's first three games on the bench but have won only one of 12 since.
Committed to development of players who comprise the NBA's youngest starting lineup, Vandeweghe understands there will be more pain before season's end. He is sustained by ongoing effort from young players determined to prove they aren't as bad as perceived, and by the prospect of a sea change this summer — when the Nets will have more salary cap space to use on free agents than any team.
What happens, though, if the Nets are so horrid that not even a second-tier free agent, let alone LeBron James, Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh, would even consider the Nets?
“There's two ways to look at this,” Vandeweghe said. “If you can fast forward to July free agency, which we're clearly some type of player in, you're going to be judged on those days, not today; on what you have in the cupboard, and we do have good young players — Devin Harris, Brook Lopez, Yi Jianlian, Courtney Lee. So the important thing is to develop the young players and keep the foundation solid; develop habits that winning teams have.”
What's really important if the Nets want to be even a fleeting consideration of game-changing free agents is a 10th victory, preferably before the Ides of March.
[email protected]