Mr.Bottomtooth
11-24-2007, 11:56 AM
KRSTIC 'LOST' & 'CONFUSED'
By FRED KERBER
November 24, 2007 -- "I feel lost," Krstic said. "Confused. I don't know really what to do right now to get really back."
Krstic has done a poor impression of the player who shot over 50 percent in his first two-plus seasons. With his conditioning lagging, his reaction time increasing, his numbers plunging, Krstic said he realizes he has a long way to go following surgery for a torn left ACL.
"I really am not helping the team at all. They can do without me so maybe it's just better to shut down and work out and get ready in a couple weeks, maybe more," Krstic said. "I don't know how long it's going to take."
Coach Lawrence Frank has tried bringing Krstic along slowly. He's tried the work-him-hard way. Neither has worked. But they're going back to intensive work. Which means Krstic likely will play even less in the short term.
"Right now we're going to give him very intense workouts, individual workouts, to build up his cardio and game rhythm. Then we'll give him a taste during games, see if he's going well, let him in. If he's not going well we'll get him out," Frank said. "Hopefully, over the course of the next couple weeks due to these workouts, he'll be able to pick up a little steam."
Krstic was dropped from the starting lineup after averaging 6.6 points in eight games. In the next four games off the bench, he averaged 8.7 minutes, shot 2-of-16 (.125), scored six points.
"Really, my head right now is confused, but the good thing is I know my knee is fine. That's the main thing. I know I'm going to be fine in the future just right now it's frustrating," Krstic said. "I come into the game and it takes a while but then I come out and sit. It gets stiff. . . . You try to work out, practice and just play games. That's not working."
The small lineup has been effective for the Nets. But Jason Kidd sees an obvious problem - the glass. Then there's defense.
"We're trying to solve one problem at a time. We can't solve them all. You've got to be able to score," Kidd said. "We've got to limit our droughts. The other part is to defend with that small lineup. The biggest part is not so much defending, but rebounding."
http://www.nypost.com/seven/11242007/sports/nets/krstic_lost__confused_995536.htm
By FRED KERBER
November 24, 2007 -- "I feel lost," Krstic said. "Confused. I don't know really what to do right now to get really back."
Krstic has done a poor impression of the player who shot over 50 percent in his first two-plus seasons. With his conditioning lagging, his reaction time increasing, his numbers plunging, Krstic said he realizes he has a long way to go following surgery for a torn left ACL.
"I really am not helping the team at all. They can do without me so maybe it's just better to shut down and work out and get ready in a couple weeks, maybe more," Krstic said. "I don't know how long it's going to take."
Coach Lawrence Frank has tried bringing Krstic along slowly. He's tried the work-him-hard way. Neither has worked. But they're going back to intensive work. Which means Krstic likely will play even less in the short term.
"Right now we're going to give him very intense workouts, individual workouts, to build up his cardio and game rhythm. Then we'll give him a taste during games, see if he's going well, let him in. If he's not going well we'll get him out," Frank said. "Hopefully, over the course of the next couple weeks due to these workouts, he'll be able to pick up a little steam."
Krstic was dropped from the starting lineup after averaging 6.6 points in eight games. In the next four games off the bench, he averaged 8.7 minutes, shot 2-of-16 (.125), scored six points.
"Really, my head right now is confused, but the good thing is I know my knee is fine. That's the main thing. I know I'm going to be fine in the future just right now it's frustrating," Krstic said. "I come into the game and it takes a while but then I come out and sit. It gets stiff. . . . You try to work out, practice and just play games. That's not working."
The small lineup has been effective for the Nets. But Jason Kidd sees an obvious problem - the glass. Then there's defense.
"We're trying to solve one problem at a time. We can't solve them all. You've got to be able to score," Kidd said. "We've got to limit our droughts. The other part is to defend with that small lineup. The biggest part is not so much defending, but rebounding."
http://www.nypost.com/seven/11242007/sports/nets/krstic_lost__confused_995536.htm