Data: 2010-10-05 09:48:42 | |
Autor: Leszczur | |
Insider: Nets według Hollingera. | |
Player Profiles: New Jersey Nets
Hollinger By John Hollinger ESPN.com Archive We shared our forecast for the Nets in 2010-11. Now it's time to take a closer look at their roster. Here are my player scouting reports and '10-11 projections. (Note: Projections are for players who played 500 or more minutes in the NBA in '09-10.) STARTERS DEVIN HARRIS, PG Projection: 19.4 pts, 3.5 reb, 7.3 ast per 40 min; 16.57 PER | Player card • Lightning quick score-first guard who can drive past any defender. • Poor set shooter but makes 15-foot step-back jumper. Draws tons of fouls. • Elite defender when focused but barely tried last season. Injury- prone. Last season Harris took a major step backward in several respects, struggling with injuries and coming nowhere close to his All-Star performance of a year earlier. Let's start with the injuries, since they're the biggest concern going forward. Harris has played just 70 games once in the past five seasons, and given his slight build and how much contact he takes, one has to worry about his ability to stay on the court. He also needs to play better when he's out there. Harris played a lot of games at half-strength and drew dramatically fewer fouls than he had a year earlier; he also shot a career low 40.3 percent from the floor. Stylistically, he tended to pound the ball searching out shots; while this might be an appropriate strategy if Bobby Simmons and Trenton Hassell are your wingmen, Harris needs to make sharper, quicker decisions this season. Harris' shooting percentages should bounce back -- there's no way he'll shoot 49.6 percent in the basket area again -- but he also has to start trying on defense. Harris was arguably the best defender at his position while in Dallas; last season he might have been the Nets' worst. The ability is there: He's tall for the position, extremely quick and great at taking charges. Yet the Nets -- one of the worst teams ever -- allowed 6.8 points per 100 possessions more with Harris on the court. TERRENCE WILLIAMS, SG Projection: 15.5 pts, 7.9 reb, 5.2 ast per 40 min; 12.61 PER | Player card • Athletic wing with wayward jumper. Can get to the rim but doesn't draw fouls. • Excellent rebounder for size. Has strength, athleticism to be a good defender. • Can pass and create but must make better decisions. A classic "point forward." Williams' rookie season looked like a disaster until the final two months, when he made tremendous strides. Prior to the All-Star break, he shot 36.6 percent, but from March. 1 to the end of the season he morphed into a different player. Over those 22 games, Williams averaged 14.1 points, 7.1 boards and 5.6 assists, including a 27-13-10 triple-double against Chicago on April 9. His full-season numbers were a mix of the great and the awful. He really can't shoot, making only 24.1 percent of his long 2s and ranking 64th out of 67 small forwards in TS percentage, and he doesn't draw fouls despite his athleticism. However, he ranked sixth at this position in rebound rate and ninth in pure point rating. Finally, here's one more weird data point: Only three small forwards blocked fewer shots per minute than the 6-foot-6 Williams. What's up with that? TRAVIS OUTLAW, SF Projection: 17.4 pts, 6.6 reb, 1.8 ast per 40 min; 14.40 PER | Player card • Long, high-jumping swingman; decent shooter who can get shot off anytime. • Uncoordinated defender; struggles through screens but can challenge shots. • Average ballhandler who settles for jumper too often and doesn't see floor. Outlaw missed 57 games, mostly because of a foot injury, and it wouldn't have been a bad idea to skip the other 25 too. After a trade to the Clippers, Outlaw shot bricks (39.3 percent) and played matador defense while he waited for the free agency clock to strike midnight. Nonetheless, his brief season offered a taster course of the same strengths and weaknesses. Outlaw is far better at creating shots than making them, but he accomplishes this without committing turnovers. These are useful skills to have with a second unit and a reason that he's far more valuable coming off the bench. He's also very good as a smallball power forward, as few 4s can hang with him off the dribble. While $35 million is too rich for that set of skills, clearly his skills are worth something. He's only 25, but he hasn't improved over the past four seasons and was no closer to turning the corner with his play last season. With lots of minutes and shots on offer in New Jersey, this will be his best chance to prove he's more than just a bench scorer. TROY MURPHY, PF Projection: 16.3 pts, 11.8 reb, 2.5 ast per 40 min; 15.71 PER | Player card • Lefty sharpshooter who loves to spot up at top of key for 3- pointers. • Superior below-rim rebounder who gets great position. Invisible on D otherwise. • Subpar athlete. Will shot fake and drive lane but can't finish in traffic. OK, Murphy isn't going to make the All-Defense team. But in virtually every other respect, he's a heck of a player. Last season he ranked among the top 10 power forwards in rebound rate, pure point rating and true shooting percentage while averaging a double-double for a second straight season. That's a doozy of a combination and explains why he's a quality starter despite the porous D. Once again, Murphy was the unquestioned master of the straight-on 3 from the top of the key. Last season he lobbed 175 shots from that range; the next closest player, Toronto's Andrea Bargnani, took 109. I would struggle to name any other category where a player had that wide a lead on second place. Since this arrangement is unique to Jim O'Brien's offense in Indiana, I'm interested to see how much Johnson borrows from the Pacers' playbook to get Murphy his favored shot. BROOK LOPEZ, C Projection: 20.9 pts, 10.0 reb, 2.3 ast per 40 min; 19.66 PER | Player card • Skilled center with 18-foot range and solid low-post game. Good foul shooter. • Good leaper when he can gather himself, but poor mobility. Mediocre rebounder. • Has shot-blocking skill but otherwise a subpar defender due to slow feet. Statistically Lopez had a very impressive second season, especially given the paucity of talent surrounding him. What's particularly impressive is that he combines two important skills -- he draws a lot of fouls and he shot 81.7 percent from the line. Only three centers proved more accurate from the stripe. While Lopez relied too often on his jumper -- he made only 33.2 percent of his long 2s -- a lot of those shots were under duress at the end of the shot clock. Lopez needs a lot of work on his defense, however. He blocked a decent number of shots, partly because there were so many Nets opponents attempting layups, but his lack of mobility is a real concern. He doesn't run the floor well and his pick-and-roll coverage leaves much to be desired. KEY RESERVES JORDAN FARMAR, PG Projection: 16.6 pts, 3.3 reb, 4.0 ast per 40 min; 12.80 PER | Player card • Quick, high-leaping guard who can get to basket but doesn't see floor well. • Average outside shooter but an unusually bad foul shooter. • Good defender who moves feet well but vulnerable to post-ups by big guards. Point guards in the Lakers' system aren't expected to set up teammates as often as their counterparts on other clubs. But Farmar was just ridiculous -- he placed 69th out of 71 point guards in assist ratio and 69th in pure point rating. That explains why he couldn't take Derek Fisher's job despite posting fairly decent numbers in other categories and Fisher's own freefall. Another disappointment is that Farmar has been in the league four years and still stinks from the line -- his 67.1 percent mark was worse than every point guard's except Rajon Rondo's. While Farmar hit 37.1 percent of his 3s and made an impressive 57.3 percent of his shots in the basket area, it's hard to argue he's maximizing his talents. He wasn't a great fit in the Lakers' system and may be much more comfortable in New Jersey. But Phil Jackson wasn't making him miss free throws. If Farmar doesn't convert a few more and start finding some teammates with his drives, his career is unlikely to gain much more traction. ANTHONY MORROW, SG Projection: 17.7 pts, 5.2 reb, 2.1 ast per 40 min; 13.90 PER | Player card • Outstanding shooter who is threat from any spot on floor. Will force it. • Will post small guards and turn over left shoulder for jumper; can make floaters. • Limited athlete and a very poor defender. Doesn't hustle back in transition. If Morrow isn't the best shooter in basketball, he's definitely on the short list. Through two pro seasons, he's at 46.0 precent on 3s, 87.9 percent from the line and 44.3 percent on long 2s. Unlike a lot of shooting specialists, he can create some offense for himself too. Morrow had a middle-of-the-pack usage rate and pumped in 17.8 points per 40 minutes. That about covers the strengths; the rest of his game needs serious work. Morrow will stop the ball searching out shots and he basically needs to learn defense from the ground up -- he sure as heck wasn't taught anything with Golden State. Despite those limitations, his jumper alone should guarantee him a dozen-year career. DERRICK FAVORS, PF No projection | Player card • Long-armed, high-jumping power forward is potent shot-blocker. • Can hit midrange J and finish at rim, but offensive game lacks polish. • Runs floor and rebounds well. Should be a quality defender. Favors probably draws the widest range of scout comments of any rookie. Some talent evaluators think he'll be a superstar; others had a lot of questions as to why he didn't dominate more in college. The fact his college team ran so much offense through Gani Lawal rather than Favors can be taken one of two ways -- either as a sign that they knew Favors wasn't as good as the pro scouts thought, or that Favors will vastly outperform his fairly pedestrian college scoring stats. JOHAN PETRO, C No projection | Player card • Reasonably athletic 7-footer with decent 15-footer and some shot- blocking skill. • Poor rebounder for size; lacks basketball instincts at both ends. Even though the Nuggets were desperate for frontcourt help, Petro sat at the end of the bench in Denver, playing only 436 minutes the entire season. He's only 24 and I suppose it's possible the light bulb could still turn on. However, he's made no progress in six years in the league and, well, let's just say my Google search for "Johan Petro workaholic" didn't turn up anything. DAMION JAMES, SF No projection | Player card • Tough, physical forward who rebounds extremely well. Great motor. • Has long arms and has improved rapidly as a perimeter shooter. • A tweener who may be too small for 4. Must improve handle. Struggles from line. James' best hope of sticking in the league is probably as a smallball 4. He rebounds extremely well for his size and shot 38.3 percent on 3s as a senior at Texas, so the potential is there. The problem is that he's undersized for the 4; he's also a poor foul shooter, calling into question those college 3-point numbers. His effort level alone is likely to keep him in the league for several years, but he'll need to hit jumpers to be a rotation player. QUINTON ROSS, SF Projection: 7.0 pts, 3.5 reb, 1.1 ast per 40 min; 3.92 PER | Player card • Quick, pesky defender with wiry build. Moves feet and rarely gambles. • Can hit midrange jumper but otherwise useless offensively. Awful rebounder. Ross shot 36.3 percent and earned the dubious distinction of having the league's worst PER in 2009-10, so I suspect he's not long for this league. While his defense has use and he may find occasional snippets of playing time in end-of-quarter situations when the opponent has the ball, in the big picture he'd have to be an All-Defense-caliber performer to justify his anemic 6.5 points per 40 minutes. He's not in that class of defender, and it's likely he'll be bought out at some point during the season. KRIS HUMPHRIES, PF Projection: 15.3 pts, 11.8 reb, 1.1 ast per 40 min; 14.79 PER | Player card • Quick, aggressive power forward. Can score but a selfish offensive player. • Short for a 4 and struggles on D. Picks up pushing fouls trying to guard post. • Good driver who draws fouls but struggles to finish at rim. Good rebounder. Perhaps this vignette from Humphries' time in Dallas will offer some insight into how he thinks on the court: In an early-season game against Minnesota, Dallas teammate Jason Terry found himself isolated against Eurostiff Oleksiy Pecherov -- a total mismatch. All the other Mavs got out of the way … except for Humphries, who flashed to the low post calling for the ball. No, Humphries doesn't totally get it. He'll break the offense to search out shots and after six years in the league, he still doesn't know to use an arm bar to defend the post. That's unfortunate because he has a lot to offer. He can run the floor and crash the boards, ranking sixth among power forwards in rebound rate and ninth in free throw attempts per field goal attempt. Alas, he's a career 43.8 percent shooter, which is pitiful for a frontcourt player who never shoots beyond 15 feet. His poor shot selection is a major factor in that percentage, and it's those mental shortcomings that prevent him from evolving into a rotation player. STEPHEN GRAHAM, SF Projection: 14.4 pts, 6.2 reb, 1.3 ast per 40 min, PER 9.98 | Player card • Thickly built wing who rebounds well for size. Subpar outside shooter. • Can create own shot in a pinch but has no court vision. • Mobility a weakness, especially guarding 2s. Mediocre defender overall. No, we don't know why he started the Bobcats' first four games lat season, and we certainly don't expect that event to repeat itself. The good news for Graham, however, is he's established something of a career. He can score and rebound just enough to prove useful in spots as a fringe rotation player, with his ideal role being as a fifth wing who can fill in at either shooting guard or small forward in the case of injury or fouls. Just don't expect him to find the open man -- he was second to last among shooting guards in assist ratio. 2009-10 Recap Let's start with the good news: The only place they can go is up. Beset by injuries that exposed a multiyear plague of terrible personnel decisions, New Jersey set a league record by losing its first 18 games and had to rally in the final weeks to avoid setting the mark for the worst record in history. New Jersey's 12-win squad was awful in a great many respects, but the worst was its simple inability to score points. New Jersey finished last in offensive efficiency, shooting percentage, 2-point shooting percentage, and TS percentage (see chart). By comparison, the Nets were downright frisky on defense, where they managed to beat out five teams in the efficiency tables. Offensive Efficiency, 2009-10's Worst Team Off. Eff. New Jersey 98.1 Minnesota 98.9 Chicago 100.8 LA Clippers 100.9 Indiana 101.3 League average 104.9 Look at the roster and it's not a big surprise. The Nets had two decent offensive players -- Devin Harris and Brook Lopez -- courtesy, it should be said, of the only two moves in the last half-decade that worked out well for the Nets. Outside of that pair, they were tragicomic. New Jersey's forwards, in particular, may have been the worst in the history of basketball. Yi Jianlian, Bobby Simmons, Trenton Hassell and Jarvis Hayes all were key members of the Nets' forward rotation last season; of the four, only Yi managed to remain in the league for 2010-11; he'll serve as a backup for another bad team (although this didn't stop the Nets from freezing out Lopez to get Yi more touches ... brilliant). Rookie Terrence Williams was even worse for much of the season before rallying late, keeping hope alive that the Nets will salvage something from their 2009 first-round pick. They certainly won't salvage anything from their picks in 2003-07: Antoine Wright, Marcus Williams, Josh Boone and Zoran Planinic. Those and a few dreadful contract decisions from earlier in the decade -- most notably a six-year, $84 million deal for Richard Jefferson -- started the Nets down the road to nowhere. What finished it off, however, was the disastrous ownership reign of Bruce Ratner. He initiated the process of moving the team to Brooklyn but didn't have the dough to see it through; in between, he had the Nets cutting every financial corner they could find in order to make ends meet. This had the predictable outcome of making bad fan support even worse, engendering a vicious cycle of declining revenue and further cost cuts. HOLLINGER'S '09-10 STATS W-L: 12-70 (Pythagorean W-L: 14-68) Offensive Efficiency: 98.1 (30th) Defensive Efficiency: 108.0 (25th) Pace Factor:93.6 (24th) Highest PER: Brook Lopez (20.11) Ratner's sale of the team to Russian businessman Mikhail Prokhorov at least brings some deep pockets back into ownership. Ground has been broken on the arena in Brooklyn and the Nets are acting more like a real NBA franchise in funding the operation. It also started sugar-plum visions of an overnight renaissance in New Jersey built on the back of free-agent-to-be LeBron James. But despite the oft-cited connection between James and Nets part-owner Jay-Z, the Nets never appeared to be a serious player for his services. Prokhorov has run a basketball team before, owning the CSKA Moscow club, but in interviews he appeared to have little clue about the NBA or how the Nets might go about winning. This didn't stop him from bravely announcing a five-year window for the Nets to win a championship, one that certainly would be lightning-quick compared to the current 34-year window. He made other bizarre moves along the way, offhandedly telling media that general manager Kiki Vandeweghe wouldn't return (something he might have mentioned to Vandeweghe first) and making the classic new- owner mistake of hiring his head coach prior to naming a general manager. Worst Defensive Rebound Rate, 2009-10 Team Def. Reb. Rate Golden State 68.5 Phoenix 70.8 New Jersey 71.8 New York 72.1 Denver 72.4 League average 73.7 In short, while the new Nets management has deeper pockets, we can't say with any confidence yet that it'll prove more adept at running the team. As for Prokhorov's proclamation about winning a title, the fly in the ointment is that he needs some talent. The Nets had two unusually good players for such a bad team -- Harris made the All-Star team in 2009 and Lopez very well may in 2011 -- but otherwise the cupboard is fairly bare. Wings Williams and Courtney Lee were the only other rotation-caliber players on last season's roster. The Nets did at least kill two birds with one stone by trading Lee for Troy Murphy. Murphy is an elite defensive rebounder; New Jersey was 28th in Defensive Rebound Rate last season (see chart). Additionally, Murphy plays power forward, a slot that was basically a running joke a year ago. No longer will New Jersey pose the triple threat of historically bad owner, terrible forwards and prolific losses; now the Nets are just another run-of-the-mill bad team. Alas, much more work remains to be done, and an odd 2010 offseason didn't put them much closer to achieving those goals. Offseason Moves Avery Johnson Didn't retain Kiki Vandeweghe, hired Avery Johnson. Vandeweghe was shoved from the front office to the sideline last winter because the Nets didn't want to pay a coach to replace the fired Lawrence Frank early in the season. While Vandeweghe was dismissed in about the coldest way possible, he wasn't head coaching material. The decision to hire Johnson was a defensible one, except that it appears he will have extensive power over personnel decisions too. This rarely works; the fact that the one glaring exception is Johnson's mentor, Gregg Popovich, offers at least a glimmer of hope for Nets fans. Announced Rod Thorn would not return, hired Billy King as general manager. While it certainly would have been understandable to whack the sole architect of a 12-70 team, it appears that wasn't the case. Reportedly, Thorn chose not to return after disagreeing with Prokhorov, eventually landing in Philadelphia. Ironically, the Nets turned around and hired King, whose last tenure with the Sixers resulted in an avalanche of bad contracts that buried Philadelphia in the late Allen Iverson years. This was an odd choice, to say the least, but it appears Kings' role here will be much like his last gig. In Philly he was nominally in charge of personnel with Larry Brown making all the important calls; this time it's Johnson who will be doing so. Drafted Derrick Favors. Surprisingly, New Jersey chose Favors over DeMarcus Cousins, whom I consider the superior talent. However, New Jersey's need was more clear at Favors' power forward position, and scouts are high on his long-term potential. Short-term, he is unlikely to make as immediate an impact as Cousins and will probably come off the bench behind Murphy. Traded 27th and 31st picks to Atlanta for 24th pick, drafted Damion James. New Jersey's two-for-one move-up deal for James landed it a solid reserve who can swing between the two forward positions, again targeting the Nets' problem area from a year ago. In a few years he'll probably play the 4 exclusively, but in his early 20s he should have enough zip in his step to play on the wing. He'd better, because that's where the playing time will be available this season. Signed Travis Outlaw to a five-year, $35 million deal. New Jersey whiffed on all the major free agents and basically signed a panic deal with Outlaw, a halfway decent player who isn't worth anywhere near this kind of money. One thing I will say for New Jersey's free-agent strategy, however, is that the Nets were smart enough to go young -- they didn't sign one player older than 25. In a few more years, when New Jersey is ready to do something of consequence, these guys should still be contributors. Signed Anthony Morrow to a four-year, $12 million offer sheet; executed sign-and-trade with Golden State for a conditional second- round pick. This was easily the best move of New Jersey's summer. Morrow is one-dimensional, but man, what a dimension. He's among the five best shooters in basketball and he provides the Nets with a lights-out floor-spacer that they lacked a year ago. Additionally, this contract was an absolute no-brainer at such a low price. Theoretically New Jersey also gave up a 2011 second-rounder, but there's virtually no chance of delivery; the Nets would have to finish with one of the league's top five records for that to happen. Traded Chris Douglas-Roberts to Milwaukee for a 2012 second-rounder. New Jersey's other free-agent additions made Douglas-Roberts expendable and added a dollop of extra cap space to allow the Nets to complete their other free-agent deals. Of course, one of them we kind of wish they hadn't ... Signed Johan Petro for three years, $10 million. This is a brutal contract, not because the Nets committed huge sums of money but because they guaranteed three years to a guy who isn't any good. It's not a big stretch to think five minimum-wage players in the D-League could match or exceed Petro's performance over the next three seasons. Nonetheless, he'll get first dibs at the backup center job. Bought out Keyon Dooling, Sent Yi Jianlian and $3 million to Washington for Quinton Ross. This was more salary-cap housekeeping, generating more room by lowering Dooling's cap number with the buyout and paying the Wizards to take Yi off their hands. Ross is a possible buyout candidate as well. It's hard to remember, but the original idea here was to have enough salary cap room to sign both LeBron James and another max-contract superstar -- say, Chris Bosh. In retrospect this seems comically ridiculous, but considering the Nets gave up nothing of value to create that space, it was worth a shot. Signed Jordan Farmar for three years, $12 million. Objectively, Farmar's numbers have been poor the past two seasons and his development seems to have ground to a halt. Subjectively, I think the triangle was a terrible system for him and he'll be much more effective in an offense that lets him handle the ball and penetrate more. He'll likely never be more than a very good backup to Harris, but this contract was an acceptable risk. Traded Courtney Lee to Houston, received Troy Murphy from Indiana in a four-team deal. This was a good use of the Nets' remaining salary cap space after they couldn't find a taker for it in free agency. Murphy solves several needs. I mentioned the rebounding above, but he'll also hold down the power forward slot until Favors is ready. Moreover, Murphy can produce another asset for New Jersey at the trade deadline if -- as one presumes -- they're out of contention by then. Several contenders should be interested in his expiring contract, allowing the Nets to secure a draft pick for their trouble while preserving an expected $20 million or so in cap space in 2011. For however long he's there, Murphy also might be the first player in team history to publicly admit that he grew up rooting for the Nets -- he's from Sparta, N.J. Signed Stephen Graham for one year, veteran's minimum. The virtual definition of a replacement-level player, Graham will provide a halfway decent fifth wing at the back end of the rotation. If he plays more than five minutes a game it's a strong sign the rebuilding project has not gone as planned. Signed Joe Smith for one year, veteran's minimum. Smith had a tough year in Atlanta last season and may be nearing the end of the line, but he was a decent find as a fifth big man. If he plays well, he's likely to be converted into a draft pick at the trade deadline. Biggest Strength: Perimeter quickness The most difficult part about playing New Jersey will be stopping their guards from getting to the rim, because they have three with outstanding quickness. The bulk of New Jersey's offense is likely to consist of Harris, Farmar and Williams running high pick-and-rolls with Lopez or Murphy, while the others space the floor around them. Yes, Lopez will get a few play calls on the block too, but in general the action will start on the perimeter. Harris is likely to be the focal point. He's one of the quickest players in the league and virtually impossible to keep out of the paint off the dribble, but his tendency to look to score can ruffle teammates. He also collided with Johnson when the two were together in Dallas, partly because Johnson's restrictive system didn't give Harris much freedom. That might have been appropriate with a loaded Dallas team, but on this club Johnson needs to give Harris a lot more rope. The other player to watch is Williams, who looked like a bust for four months before emerging late in the season. He's the opposite of Harris in that he's not a talented scorer but he possesses advanced passing skills. The one disadvantage is that Williams is an inferior outside shooter, which makes it easy for opponents to lay off him and sit on his penetration. Finally, there's Farmar. Like Harris he looks more to score than to pass, but he's quick off the dribble and can get to the basket in pick- and-rolls. Between those two, New Jersey will always have a point guard on the floor who can create offense. Biggest Weakness: Frontcourt defense We have much to choose from, but frontcourt defense is likely to be New Jersey's downfall this season. As bad as the combo of Lopez and Yi was last season, Lopez and Murphy might be worse. The problem is that both players share the same weakness -- they're among the slowest players at their respective positions. That shortcoming will make the Nets susceptible to opponent transition plays and compromise their pick-and-roll defense. Lopez and Murphy do offer strengths -- Lopez is a good shot-blocker when he gets close enough to make a play, whereas Murphy is outstanding on the defensive boards. Unfortunately, their inability to help their teammates is likely to lead to easy penetration opportunities for opposing perimeter players. Moreover, the duo won't have much help off the bench. Petro, the likely backup center, is adequate at best. Behind Murphy, Favors is likely to take his lumps as a rookie, especially given his lack of strength. There are few other candidates to take additional minutes -- James, another rookie who will be on a learning curve, being the most likely option. Outlaw is another possibility, but his use as a smallball 4 would be strictly for offensive purposes. Outlook The nice thing about crash-landing at the bottom of the standings is that it will only get better from here. The Nets didn't achieve the Plan A of nabbing LeBron James and starting a dramatic overnight recovery, but they should start returning to respectability this season. Harris is likely to play better than he did a year ago, Lopez is a rising star in the post and the forwards are about a thousand times better than last season's peanut gallery. Plus, Johnson should prove helpful, at least on the sideline. He's coached Harris before, and while that relationship was rocky at times, he knows how to use him to good effect. Johnson also is likely to demand much more from Harris and Lopez at the defensive end -- since both of them loafed on D a year ago. Nonetheless, this won't be an overnight recovery. The Nets can expect nightly beatings in front of puny crowds in their first season in Newark. However, the Nets can take solace in the fact that somebody else will be this year's NBA doormat, while they become one of the rare teams to double their win total from the year before. Prediction: 26-56, 4th in Atlantic Division, 14th in Eastern Conference |
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