Kidd is out

WTF JUST HAPPENED!?!??! I was just sitting on my coach enjoying Tanaka throw a gem then I check twitter to see that Jason Kidd made a “power play” to run basketball operations of the Nets, and failed. Now he is “likely” out as the head coach of the Nets and is interviewing to become president of basketball operations for the Milwaukee Bucks. (OH look Tanaka just lost the game. What a great night!) Jason Kidd did an outstanding job in his first year with the Nets. It looked to be a lost season when Brook Lopez went down, but instead Kidd went to a smaller lineup and changed the season around. Kidd was a great coach when it came to the rotations and game plans; I mean the Nets were two or three plays away from being up 3-2 on the Heat in the second round of the playoffs. Now the Nets don’t have a head coach and are a complete and utter mess. Also if Kidd goes to the Bucks, the Nets will most likely get a first round pick from them.

First let’s look at Kidd as running basketball operations. I would have been 100% behind it. What has Billy King done that makes you say he should not been have fired? During the season I thought the Nets had their coach of the future; now they’re back to square one.

What Jason Kidd did here was very smart. Bomani Jones explained it perfectly on twitter and I’ll just re-write what he said. (Paraphrasing) “Kidd has five million left on his contract that isn’t job security so what does Kidd have to lose if he feels Billy King might get the boot soon. Because if Billy King goes, Kidd will go soon after. Kidd is close friends with the Bucks new owner so if Kidd walked up to the Nets and was denied to run the front office he had a safe place at the Bucks.” What Kidd did was smart and very dirty. He went behind the back of the man who hired him and traded to get him fired.

This leaves the Nets in a horrible place. They’re entering their third season in Brooklyn and will be on their fourth head coach. Why would Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett or Shaun Livingston come back to this mess? Comeback to an organization with no culture and no stability? The Nets look like the Knicks. Right now the Nets need a new coach and please God, not Mark Jackson. The Nets have to go with a young coach; that will be the long term answer, not a re-trend coach.

Here are three quick options:

Mike Longabardi of the Phoenix Suns. He was an assistant under the Celtics with Doc Rivers where he learned from Tom Thibodeau. He has been an assistant coach for the Suns the last couple of years and is a great defensive coach. He was also born in Brooklyn. He has been an assistant forever and has paid his dues. He is ready to become a NBA coach and I will be the leader of his bandwagon. Get him to Brooklyn!

David Fizdale of the Miami Heat. He did interview for a couple of jobs this offseason about their head coaching job but was turned away. He has been an assistant with the Heat since 2008. He is well respected by LeBron James and is believed to one day be a NBA coach.

Sean Sweeney. I have no idea who he is. Sean Sweeney is the youngest member of the Nets coaching staff and is highly regarded within the organization and will be coaching the summer league team for the Nets. Sweeney moved to the bench midseason last year after being promoted from video coordinator. Kidd always seemed to listen to Sweeney. The only problem about Sweeney is that he’s 29 years old. However, if he’s highly regarded, I don’t care how old he is, let him coach if you like him.

Like I said this was just a quick list of names the Nets are reportedly looking for someone with coaching experience in NBA or college.  

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Knicks and Mavs trade

            We’re not even at the NBA draft and we have our first trade of the NBA offseason. ISN’T THIS WONDERFUL?!?!?! The Knicks are sending Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton to the Mavericks for Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert, Shane Larkin, Wayne Ellington and the 34^th and the 51th pick in this year’s draft. I’ll do a quick pros and cons list for this trade.

Dallas Mavericks

Pro: They got rid of Jose Calderon’s contract which expires after the 2016/2017 season

Cons: Everything! Chandler and Felton looked awful last year and they gained 3 million dollars in their cap for this year, the Mavs got worse in this trade.

New York Knicks

Pros: They got rid of Raymond Felton!!!!

They also got Shane Larkin who was drafted last year and is obviously on a rookie deal until 2016/2017 season. Larkin had an okay rookie season but has the potential to be a good point guard in the NBA.

The Knicks also get the 34^th pick in the draft, in this deep draft that could catch the Knicks a good young player. The 51th pick is late but hey you never know could grab someone decent.

Jose Calderon and Samuel Dalembert combined are better than Felton and Chandler so in that sense it’s a good trade.

Calderon is also one of the best three point shooting point guards in the league. He shot 49% from three last year.

Wayne Ellington is a very good three point shooter and could be a sleeper in this trade.

Cons: My con is Jose Calderon, he is going to be 33 when the season starts and he has a long contract it ends after the 2016/2017 season he makes 7 million dollars in all three years. Paying an average point guard 7 million isn’t good.

Advance Stats

            Okay so I dug around a bit I found a stat that was a little surprising to me Chandler had a real plus minus of 3.86 which is 7^th among centers while Dalembert was -.39 which was 35^th among centers. Felton had a real plus minus of 0.91 27^th among point guards while Calderon had a -1.70 46^th among point guards.

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2014 Draft

The NBA draft is on the 26th and since I am no college basketball expert we turn to our good friend John Kluppy for his draft expertise. In this draft I would say there are four levels of prospects; really good prospects, good prospects, some wildcards and everyone else. Agree?

JK:  I would definitely agree that there are tiers (like in any draft) but the drop from tier one to tier two is dramatic. Coming into the draft, I'd say that Embiid, Wiggins, Parker and maybe even Exum are the top tier. I believe that Wiggins will be the best player in this draft. I believe Wiggins, Embiid, and Exum have tremendous potential while Parker, who has the lowest floor, also has the lowest ceiling. Wiggins can be a TMac lite and Embiid has the potential to be the best offensive big man in the game. Exum, like Embiid, is very far but also has great potential. Exum has great size who projects as a plus defender with a potentially scary offensive repertoire. He has the size and passing ability to be a plus passer who can play the one and two.

   After those guys, Randle, Smart, and Gordon, round out the second tier. I really like Gordon. Gordon has the potential to be a defensive whiz with incredible athleticism. Shawn Marion and AK, guys who do a little bit of everything, are good pro comparisons. Smart is one of the intriguing players in this draft. If he had come out last year, he would've been picked 3rd by the Magic. He was seen as a Dwayne Wade type whose great leadership would help right the ship of any sunken ship. After the punch incident, he was seen as a wild card. The Kings seem like a great fit and I think he has the potential to be a star.

            I agree with your first part; I like Exum more than Parker. Wiggins and Embiid are the two best in this draft. I disagree with some of your stuff in the second part. Randle has taken a hit due to his foot injury so he could fall out of the top ten and his game doesn’t quite work in the current NBA.  However, he was definitely in the second tier of prospects before the news of his foot injury. For the Marcus Smart pushing incident, I personally don’t find it a big deal. He’s twenty years old and he pushed a fan who could have said something really awful towards him. I also noticed you left off a name on your second tier; a player who I really like, Noah Vonleh. He has great size, averaged a double, and can shot the three, and did I mention he’s 6’10? He could be a wildcard, but I love his game I think he has the highest ceiling of anyone in the second tier.

JK:  I totally forgot about Vonleh. I’d rather have him than Randle and Smart. I don't mind the Smart incident and I think he can still be the leader people brought him up to be. I think Vonleh has a lot of potential and could've been much more productive in college if given more chances at Indiana. Randle has almost no defensive potential and with his T-Rex arms, doesn't look to have a lot of potential. I think Randle has taken a hit unfairly (like Smart) but could be a steal later in draft if he falls (a la Jared Sullinger). If he lands in the top 10-14, I’d pass. But 20 and on? I’d pull the trigger.

The Wildcards in the draft are? I put Exum in here simply because he has never seen him play before and Doug McDermott. McDermott was a great scorer in college but it won’t translate to the NBA. He could be a good shooter in the NBA but that’s about it; and his defense is about average.

JK: I wouldn't put Exum in wild cards. Or instead of a wildcard section, I would call the third tier the hindsight guys. I think guys like Douggy buckets or whatever, Zack Lavine and James Young could turn into very serviceable players but could also be nothing more than a lost cause. I like Lavine and I think he has the ability to be a star with plus athleticism (watch those crazy videos of him in workouts) with a great shooting touch. He can score too, but he wasn't a leader at UCLA as it was obvious that it was Kyle Anderson's team. Speaking of Anderson, he’s probably the hardest guy in the draft to predict. His stock has been at the top ten (nbadraft.net had him going in the top ten at one point), to the lottery, to out of the first round. Boris Diaw’s amazing postseason probably helped his stock as his game resembles his to a key. Anderson will never give you defense but his offensive game is one of the more well-rounded in the draft. He does everything (offensively) well and is LeBron James without the athleticism. James Young has one of the nicest jumpers in the draft and showed flashes of a real scorer who can finish at the basket.

So you like Kyle Anderson? I agree that all of those guys could be serviceable players in the NBA. The only problem is they will be drafted into situations where they will be asked to be the 3rd or 4th guy and some of those guys might not be ready for that. I think Lavine is the guy that will be a great pick in the lottery and you mentioned the workout videos. I think he will sneak into the top ten; his potential is sky high. Okay, what player do you think is a bust that will be picked in the top 15?

JK: I like Kyle Anderson but to a point. If I’m a team in the later first round, I’d take him without a doubt. Lottery? That gets a little tougher. I also think it depends on the situation. The Spurs seem like a perfect fit. But so do a lot of competing teams like the Clippers (Collison replacement?) Suns (perfect fit for their style) Rockets (ditto) and the Heat (could replace Mario Chalmers). I think Randle is a nice fit as a bust. I would rather have guys like Young, Lavine, Stauskas, Harris and all the other guys in the top ten. I also think Douggie buckets has a good chance at being a bust. White guys who need the ball a lot don’t always translate into the NBA well. If he wants to be successful he’ll have to transform his game (think J.J. Redick) but even if he does he won’t be the player people will want him to be.

            I think Randle has the highest probability to be a bust. The injury and his style of play is concerning. Aaron Gordon’s lack of offensive skill is concerning, but he can improve. Marcus Smart shooting is also not great although he did improve his 3 point % but 10 points this year. Randle is probably the best bet for a bust I agree. Last question, give me a mock of the first ten picks (no trades just the way the teams are slotted now).

JK:

1. (Cleveland) Andrew Wiggins  

2. (Milwaukee) Jabari Parker

3. (Philly) Dante Exum

4. (Orlando) Noah Vonleh

5. (Utah) Aaron Gordon

6. (Boston) Joel Embiid:

7. (L.A.) Julius Randle:

8. (Sacramento) Marcus Smart

9. (Charlotte) Nik Stauskas

10 (76ers) Gary Harris

My top 10 is…

1.    (Cleveland) Wiggins

2.      (Milwaukee) Parker

3.      (Philly) Exum

4.      (Orlando) Embiid

5.      (Utah) Vonleh

6.      (Boston) Gordon

7.      (L.A.) Smart

8.      (Sacramento) Randle

9.      (Charlotte) McDermott

10.  (Philly) Stauskas

Two quick notes. John and I wrote this piece before the Embiid injury due to our schedules… Embiid would have been the number one pick if he had not gotten hurt but he’s still a top ten player. Also I expect the Nets to get into this draft by buying a pick, my belief is that it will be a second round pick. The Nets don’t have the assets to acquire a first round pick unless they are willing to part with Brook Lopez which doesn’t seem likely at the moment.

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Priorities

     The Nets season is over; they lost to the Heat in five games. Even though the Nets lost in five, this wasn’t a blow out like most series that go five games. The Nets were in every game but one, and they should probably have lead this series 3-2. But instead they are eliminated; now begins the offseason. The Nets don’t have a draft pick and don’t have much cap flexibility. I’ll be listing the moves and signings the Nets must do this offseason.

Priority Number 1

            During the season Billy King came out and said Shaun Livingston would be the Nets number one priority in the offseason. Mr. King couldn’t have been more wrong. Paul Pierce is the number one priority this offseason. The Nets traded three first round draft picks for Paul Pierce. You don’t trade three first round picks for someone to have them play only one year on the team. The Nets have Pierce’s bird right which means they can offer him X amount of money. I don’t care if Pierce’s contract is 2 years, $200 million. The Nets are already in salary cap hell, so the money doesn’t matter. Give me one or two more years of Paul Pierce!

Priority Number 2

            This is where Shaun Livingston comes into play. Livingston had a tremendous season for the Nets and is now in line for a nice pay day. The Nets can offer Livingston two contracts; the mini MLE (Mid-Level Exception) which would be for three years $10 million, or offer him a one year contract for $1.73 million, but they get his bird rights which means they can offer him whatever the following season. Now Livingston will most likely get better offers from other teams. However, the Nets took a chance on Livingston and were rewarded. The only question is, will Livingston give the Nets a hometown discount and return? I think Livingston returns but I don’t know under which contract, in a perfect world he comes back on the one year deal. That will allow the Nets to use the Mini MLE on a free agent.

 Priority Number 3

            This is the most interesting priority to me; and that’s what to do with Brook Lopez? Lopez is coming off his second major foot surgery and doesn’t quite fit into the Nets new system offensively. I think the Nets will look into trading him this offseason, but will end up keeping him. That’s fine Brook Lopez is a great player and must learn to play in the Nets new system.

Priority Number 4

            Kevin Garnett is about to turn 38 years old and is undecided on his future. He has one more year left on his contract making $12 million if he decides to come back. The Nets were at their best defensively when KG was on the floor this year. If KG comes back next year I suggest he comes off the bench. The Nets shouldn’t play with two bigs on the floor. Lopez is the center, KG backup center, and maybe at times they can both share the floor. Hopefully KG comes back for one more year.

Priority Number 5

            Deron Williams, GET ANKLE SURGERY!!! Deron Williams isn’t the same player he used to be. We know it, and even he knows it. He has no trust in his game because he has glass ankles. Steph Curry had the same problem.  He got ankle surgery, started wearing ankle braces, and he’s unbelievable. Now if Deron gets ankle surgery he won’t become Steph Curry, but I believe he’ll be much better. Get the surgery!

Priority Number 6

            Three Nets have a player option; Andray Blatche, Alan Anderson and Andrei Kirilenko. Blatche has already said he will be opting out but plans to resigns with the Nets. If I am running the Nets I wouldn’t offer Blatche a contract. Just let him go! The Nets have Mason Plumlee who’s ready to be the backup center and fits in the Nets current system rather than Blatche. Also Plumlee doesn’t make dumb decisions. Alan Anderson hasn’t commented on his player option yet but I expect that he will pick it up. I’m not a fan of Anderson, but he does fill up the roster. As long as he doesn’t average many minutes I am okay with him returning. Kirilenko has an interesting decision early in the season. He said he planned to finish his two season in Brooklyn which indicated he was going to opt in to his player option; but now he is undecided. I am a huge fan of AK47 and I hope the Nets can keep him. Reminder: the price doesn’t matter. The Nets are already over the cap. Just get him back and play him more.

Priority Number 7

            My last Priority is for the Nets to get a first round draft pick. The only way to do this is to trade with a team late in the first round. The Nets have two players that they can trade, Marcus Thornton and Mirza. Thornton has an expiring contract but will make $8 million next year. I don’t think a team will trade for that. So that leaves Mirza. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Mirza, but he’ll be 29 at the start of next season and will be 31 when his contract is up. I’d much rather have a young prospect than Mirza. Mason Plumlee was a great find late in the draft and the Nets would help themselves a lot if they could find another steal. There are three teams that could maybe strike a deal with the Nets for Mirza. One is OKC who has two late first round picks.( If these two teams traded it would be for pick #29) Sam Presti has done great with first round picks and values them a lot, but Mirza only makes 3.2 the next two years and is a player that can help OKC win now. The Suns have three first round picks (The Nets would get pick #27). Can you picture Mirza in that offense? He is the perfect fit for that team The Suns could use three picks in next year’s draft as well so it would be best for them to trade one in this draft. The last team I can see the Nets trading with is the Clippers. LA has the 28^th pick and some bad contracts. If I were the Nets, I would offer Mirza for Dudley and the picks. Mirza is better than Dudley but I would happily take Dudley if it meant the Nets get a pick back.

Closing

Bojan Bogdanovic is the Nets big time prospect overseas. You may have been wondering why he wasn’t a priority. The reason is, according to reports he won’t be coming over to the United States. If the Nets do all of this I think they can find themselves back in the second round of the playoffs.

For everything NBA and Nets follow @threwthenet on twitter. 

Nets vs Heat

The Nets almost committed the great choke job of their team’s long and depressed history on Sunday, but they didn’t!  Now they head to South Beach to take on the two time defending champions, the Miami Heat. The Nets went 4-0 against the Heat this year, but that doesn’t mean much to me. The Heat are on a verge of a dynasty; the regular season doesn’t matter. But for this series the two keys for the Nets are Jason Kidd, and Deron Williams. The key for Miami is the health of a star, and the bench.

Match-up

Regular season:

            Brooklyn Nets 104.4 offensive rating 104.9 defensive rating

            Miami Heat 109 offensive rating 102.9 defensive rating

Head to head: 4 games

            Brooklyn Nets offensive rating 104.1 offensive rating 102.6 defensive rating

            Miami Heat offensive rating 102.6 defensive rating 104.1

Jason Kidd

            Jason Kidd is a LeBron’s stopper over the last three years. His record over the Heat is 13-3. Kidd watched Rick Carlisle slow LeBron in the 2011 finals. With the Knicks last year they swung the ball around the court vs Miami and lit them up from beyond the arch. This year Brooklyn is 4-0.  LeBron has been good in those games, but the Nets found ways to beat them. For Kidd this series is about keeping LeBron in check and playing the right guys on the Nets. Right before game 6, Kidd inserted Alan Anderson into the starting line. When I saw the tweet about this I was ready to leave the Barclay center and start the long depressing trip home. Instead, Anderson played well with the starters. When Anderson starts the team net rating with him on the floor is 2.3 (2 games), off the bench -7 (5 games).  These are only playoffs, but vs the Heat this year, in the two games off the bench, his rating was -12.4. However, in the one game he started vs Miami he was a +14! Now that’s a small sample size, but he should start in this series. Wait, did I just say Alan Anderson needs to start?!?! Kidd’s rotations are the key. Blatche needs more minutes than Plumlee. Versus the Heat, Plumlee -8.9 net rating, Blatche 0.2; both played 3 games vs them. Marcus Thornton remembered how to shoot a basketball in game 7 and now might be the most important guy off the bench for the Nets in this series. In four games this year vs the Heat, his net rating was a +20; two of those games he was on the Kings. Anderson should start, Thornton should be the 6^th man, and Blatche should be the first big off the bench.  However, if Kidd wants to test out Plumlee for a game or two, I am okay with that. Shaun Livingston had a disappointing first round. The numbers were not good; he should come off the bench. AK-47 and Mirza do not have great numbers vs the Heat this year, but they should play at times. If Mirza can heat up that’s always a good thing, but his defense is not good. AK-47 net rating is -10.1 vs the Heat this year, but he can play good defense on LeBron at times, so play him some.

Deron Williams

            Deron is the key for all of this team’s success. He wasn’t good in the first round and the Nets were lucky to get out of it. When your “star” (he’s not a star anymore) player shoots 41% from the field and 29% from the three, it’s not good. Deron needs to start hitting shots and start attacking the basketball. There were times vs Toronto where he would pass up open shots or avoid going to the basket. If Deron Williams doesn't perform the Nets will be gone and he’s going up against Mario Chalmers. Deron better take advantage of that.

Dwayne Wade

            The Heat have been off a week and are now healthy as can be. Most importantly D-Wade is healthy and ready to go in the first round. Versus the Bobcats, Wade shot 49% average and averaged 17 points. But the Heat’s net rating was -1 with him on the court (I’m looking for hope here, give me a break). If Wade is healthy and productive the Nets will have almost no chance to knock off the Heat.

Heat bench

            This is where the Nets have a shot to win this series. The Heat’s bench isn't that good anymore. Shane Battier looks done, and Ray Allen is having a bad year (maybe this week off will do him some good). Right now the Heat are relying on James Jones, and Rashard Lewis to hit shots for them. The Nets bench is better and they have to play like it all series. If they play at a high level the Nets have a shot.

Prediction

            Heat in 6… They have Lebron has their star and we have Deron Williams that’s not good. The Heat are just better than Brooklyn and everyone else.

One more thing

            Barclays Center has always had a lot of Heat fans in the building but don’t expect that to change with the Nets jacking up the ticket prices. You can sit in the upper deck for only $214!!! Who can say no to that?

For everything NBA and Nets follow @threwthenet on twitter.

Not one man.

The Oklahoma City Thunder finds themselves down 3-2, but should this be a surprise? This team has two top ten players in the league in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. How could a team with those two players be on the brink of elimination in the first round of the playoffs? The answer is simple. We’ve been overrating the Thunder.

Front Office

            Now, the Thunder wouldn’t be in this position if their owner, Clay Bennett, wasn’t cheap and spent the money on James Harden.  OKC would be cruising right to the finals right now. But they trade James Harden because the owner didn’t want to pay him, and in return team GM, Sam Presti, gets Kevin Martin, and some mid-round draft picks. All that for the best shooting guard in the NBA. For some reason, Presti has got a pass for his roster. Have you seen this roster 4-9? Kendrick Perkins, Steven Adams, Nick Collison, Derek Fisher, Caron Butler, Reggie Jackson and Thabo Sefolosha. Look at those names. That is not a good roster. When you look at teams like the Heat, Spurs, Clippers, Nets and Grizzlies, they win because they are deep and can spread the ball and doesn’t allow defenses to focus one or two guys.

Scott Brooks

            Brooks has taken a lot of blame in this series for the way the offense has been playing, and deservingly so. The offense looks lost.  They barely run any sets when Kevin Durant doesn’t get the ball. It’s basically the three other guys pointing at the hoop instructing Westbrook to drive to it. Brooks has been getting criticized for the lack of ball movement in his offense but who do you want him to pass the ball too? No big man on the Thunder can operate in the post. Their three point shooting is okay at best when it comes to their role players. Serge Ibaka should be getting more touches in this series. He’s shooting 60% but only taking 10 shots a game. In order to win in the NBA you need two or three stars and very good role players. The Thunder has the stars but the role players are not very good; they’re just okay.

Russell Westbrook

            We all like to pick on Westbrook when the Thunder loses because everyone hates his shot selection. However, last year when he was hurt and missed the second round, OKC lost to the Grizzlies in order for the Thunder to compete for a title they need Russell. So far in this series, Westbrook has been a disaster. He’s shooting 34% averaging 25 shots, shooting 18% from the three while taking 7 threes a game. Yes, you read that correctly. After OKCs game five lost Westbrook said,” If they give me the mid-range jumper I’ll make it 9 out of 10 times.” NO you won’t.  Someone should probably tell him he should pass the ball more. But part of Westbrooks failures have to go on Brooks and ….

Kevin Durant

            Kevin Durant. Now before I kill Kevin Durant, salute to Tony Allen who is absolutely working his ass off this series. Defending Durant is no easy task but he has put Durant on lock down. Now you might say, how does he have him on lockdown? Durant is averaging 28 points a game but is shooting 40% while taking 25 shots a game. He’s shooting 28% from the three while taking 8 shots from the three a game. In this series, Durant has a net rating of -0.1. That might seem like nothing but when your best player is a negative, you will lose the series. Tony Allen has also found a weakness in Durant’s game.  Allen battles KD before Durant gets the ball and at times it looks like Durant gives up on the play, and that’s the signal for Westbrook to do crazy shit. The solution here is to get other players involved (I’m looking at you Scott Brooks) or for Durant to fight for positioning and to get the ball.

            Right now OKC is a mess and I don’t see Memphis blowing this series. If OKC does lose, Brooks will be gone and the offseason will be an interesting one for the Thunder.

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Best Friends

“When your best friends all strung out, you’ll do everything you can, cause you’re never gonna let it get’em down.” That is the opening three lines to Foster the Peoples song “Best Friend”.  This relates more to the Nets than you think.  Brooklyn’s two best friends, Deron Williams and Jason Kidd are in a tough spot and both need each other’s help or they’ll both be golfing again very soon.

Deron Williams

            This is the man that it starts and ends with. So far in round one he has been a disappointment, which might as well be on the back of his jersey when we have nickname night again. So far in this series, DWill (he doesn’t deserve the hyphen at this moment) has been awful.  He’s averaging 36 minutes, shooting 39% on 15 shots while shooting 27% from the three, and takes 5 threes a game. But to give him some credit in this series the Nets have an offensive rating of 109 when he’s on the court and a 97 defensive rating. That’s a net rating of 11.9. That is a great number but, it hasn’t been good enough.  DWill must be more aggressive and get to the rim when he settles for jump shots.  He makes it difficult for the Nets to win. If Deron Williams wants the hyphen back he must play a lot better.

Jason Kidd

            When the Nets were struggling in 2013 I was angry, but I wasn’t angry with Jason Kidd. I thought he was doing a good job and he had been great in the regular season, but in the postseason he has probably cost the Nets one game in this series so far. For example Alan Anderson is averaging 19 minutes a game…I REPEAT ALAN ANDERSON 19 MINUTES A GAME!!! When Anderson is on the floor the Nets offensive rating is 87.5, defensive rating is 95.5 a negative net rating of 8. This is the first time I saw these numbers and I am shocked that this guy can play nearly 20 minutes. The numbers clearly prove this game makes the team worst. Andri Kirilenko needs to play more minutes. He’s averaging 17 minutes a game and the Nets are clearly better with him on the court. He has an offensive rating of 116.2, defensive rating 110.9 for a net rating of 5.3. Okay, so AK-47 is clearly the better player and makes the whole team better so let’s play our worst player more than him!!! Jason Kidd logic! Another player played too much is Andray Blatche his numbers are not bad in this series (Net rating -0.8) but it’s still Andray Blatche. Remember when KG drove for the ball in game three and got the crowd pumped up. Well the next day he said he blacked out at that moment and couldn’t explain what he was doing. When I first heard that I thought, wow KG is nuts, but you know what?  I know what he means! Because I did the same thing after Blatche shot that three in game four. Speaking of KG, the key player for the Nets when KG is on the court the Nets offense rating is 111.4, defensive rating is 94.9 for a net rating of PLUS 16.5.  Good thing he only plays 19 minutes a game (hold on a sec *scrolls up the page*) ALAN ANDERSON AND KG PLAY THE SAME AMOUNT OF MINUTES!!! I wish I can find words to explain this but I simply can’t.  Wait, you know what?  I can. Stupid, just Stupid!

All stats came from NBA.com/stats

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