The Nets Effect: RJ Breaking Out

The Nets finished off their second and third games of the season this weekend. They were crushed by the Raptors on Friday and struggled to a victory against the Sixers on Saturday to move to 2-1.

So what did we learn from the weekend?

1) The Nets are going to struggle against athletic big men. Throw Shaq, Eddy Curry or Big Z against the Nets big men and they’ll defend them as well as any other team does or better. However you throw a big man like Barnani or Bosh their way they’re going to struggle. When you throw two of them their way like the Raptors do and they’re going to struggle a lot. Collins and Magloire are not quick at all, and before Malik Allen hit a few jumpers last night I wasn’t convinced he deserved to even play in the D league. There aren’t a lot of solutions to this issue as Krstic is slowed by his recovering from his knee injuries and the Nets don’t seem to have too much faith in Sean Williams, the one guy who has the quickness to guard guys like Bargnani. Not coincidentally the only time the Nets looked decent in the second half Friday night was when Williams was on the court with the starters.

2) RJ is the VERY good. This is not breaking news here, everyone knew he was good, but this season he is stepping up his game even further. He carried the Nets to their two victories with 29 points on opening night, 22 against Philly and threw in 27 in the lose to the Raptors (he could have scored close to 40 if it wasn’t a blow out by midway in the fourth. More than the scoring is the efficiency he scores with. So far this season he is shooting 51 percent from the floor, 62.5 percent from behind the arc and is a perfect 25 for 25 from the free throw line. Using John Hollingers PER, Jefferson has a PER of 30 so far, more than doubling his predicted PER. Will he shoot this well the rest of the season? Probably not, but if he continues to take quality shots like he has the first three games, he will have a great season.

3) Vince Carter is still vastly overpaid. In stark contrast to how Jefferson has played Carter has been just as bad. He’s shooting 30 percent so far. It’s very simple for him, if he lets the offense come to him he will do well, if he forces it he won’t… he often forces it. Everyone knows he’s going to decline with age, but I can’t imagine it would happen this fast. You have to imagine he’ll pick it up, but there’s very little doubt he will not live up to his contract signed this offseason.

4) Kidd is still Kidd. After putting in another triple double last night, Jason Kidd is still doin his thing.

5) Darrell Armstrong is not an NBA point guard. He’s old, can’t shoot, is nothing special when it comes to passing and isn’t thaaaat quick. He used to be very quick, but as I mentioned he’s now old and considering his speed was his only discernable skill, he is no longer an NBA point guard. Marcus Williams can’t get back soon enough.

The Nets Effect: Interminable Preseason Continues

The Nets Effect will be the name i will be using for a series of Nets articles I will be writing. The first article was my season preview written before i decided to title the series. Now, on with the article...

The Nets got an 82-71 against the Celtics u-21 team on Tuesday. Ok fine it was the Celtics senior squad, but without any of the “big three” of Allen, Garnett and Pierce it might as well have been their D-league team. The Nets were playing without Jason Kidd who is out with a back. That’s right he has a back… oh I forgot to mention, it’s also injured. (but that’s an issue for an entirely different article)

Tonight game for me was just another example to me of why the preseason is interminable. Some fans might love training camp and the preseason; it gives you a chance to see the young guys, it means the regular season is right around the corner etc. I’m not one of those fans. Whether it’s baseball, football, or basketball the only important things are getting the starters enough AB’s, reps or minutes to get ready for the regular season and make sure they don’t get hurt. Otherwise as a fan it’s almost unwatchable. It’s sloppy, it’s people who won’t make the team because quite frankly they’re just not good enough and the players don’t really care who wins or loses. It’s practice…not a game, not a game… practice.

So what do you need to know from the game?

Richard Jefferson showed extended range. Everyone knows he’s an explosive slasher and an improving shooter. If he can make his jumper more consistent from long range he will be very hard to stop.

Nenad Krstic coming off a torn ACL went out and played, and finished the game without incident. That’s the important thing, but he also showed mobility which was nice to see. Not great mobility, but enough…he was never going to be David Robinson. He did hit a couple decent outside jumpers which would be a valuable skill as they’ll likely run plenty of pick and roles and will need someone who can make a pick and pop.

Antoine Wright played very welling shooting 6 for 8 from the field, including 2-2 from the three point stripe. Labeled as a bust by some I’m not ready to call him that. Granted he hasn’t been very good, but this is his third year in the league and he hasn’t been asked to do all that much in the first two. Much like the rest of the team his game will depend heavily on his ability to knock down a consistent jumper. He’s good enough defensively and off the dribble, that a jumper will open up his game and make him a useful player off the bench.

Being a hot blond female must be nice. The Nets have a sideline reporter who, while she’s not bad, I do have no wonder if she would have a job if she was not a hot blond female. To be honest though, I’m not going to complain. In fact I look forward to turning in to see err… hear her more this season.