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.