Volume 67, Issue 4  

Nets Look to Improve on Improbable Season

by Daniel Groner

The New Jersey Nets led the Eastern Conference in wins last season and advanced to the NBA Finals.  Their championship sweep at the hands of the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers was not deemed a disappointment by any means.  It merely left them with a bitter taste in their mouths after a sweet season.

The Nets won fifty-two games last year, twenty more than they did in the 1999-2000 campaign.  The main reason for the Nets’ turnaround was the off-season acquisition of Jason Kidd.  Kidd is well-known for his keen ball sense and ability to see the whole floor.  He was the veteran leader that budding stars Kenyon Martin and Kerry Kittles needed.

However, it was not just the addition of Kidd that propelled the Nets deep into the playoffs.  Martin and Kittles were two Nets who had histories of injury problems.  Kittles, who spent significant portions of the previous two seasons on the injured list, provided the Nets with just over thirteen points a game last year.  The team’s patience with Kittles proved worthwhile as he finally proved his worth.

Martin had broken his leg late into his collegiate career at University of Cincinnati.  A year into his pro career, there were still many questions of whether he would ever live up to his NBA hype.  Martin hushed skeptics by averaging fifteen points per contest in the regular season and upping that average to seventeen in the playoffs.  By requesting the ball down the stretch in important games, Martin tried to establish himself as a team leader.  He should pick up right where he left off last season.

With all the pieces finally in place, second-year coach Byron Scott crafted a team with an up-tempo style that played enough defense to win big.  Nevertheless, Scott and General Manager/President Rod Thorn were not satisfied with second place.  This off-season they traded starters Keith Van Horn and Todd MacCulloch to division rival Philadelphia for Dikembe Mutombo.  Mutombo is respected throughout the league as a quality shot-blocker and rebounder.  He provides the Nets with the presence inside that they were sorely missing last postseason.

Van Horn, once viewed as the future of the club, was virtually forced out of Jersey after the emergence of rookie Richard Jefferson.  During crunch time in the playoffs, Scott would frequently turn to Jefferson over Van Horn because of Jefferson’s ability to slash into the lane and draw fouls.  His athleticism will also create more opportunities for Martin and Mutombo to contribute.

The Nets’ roster changes did not stop there, though.  They signed veteran Rodney Rogers to fill the perimeter void left by Van Horn.  Rogers, Sixth Man of The Year in 1999, provided the Boston Celtics with another option off the bench in their playoff run last season.  Though he has the size of a power forward, Rogers also has shown great range on his shot.  It is his ability to go inside and out that will make him a key bench player for the Nets.

In addition to signing Rogers, the Nets recently inked Chris Childs to back up Kidd at the point.  Childs got his start with the Nets several seasons ago before moving elsewhere in hopes of a bigger role on a better team.  Evidently Childs’s heart remained in New Jersey and the team is eager to have him back.

Rogers and Childs will lead one of the deepest benches in the league.  Others members include proven big-game scorer Lucious Harris, rookie swingman Tamar Slay, and talented big man Jason Collins, who will be called upon to give an aging Mutombo frequent breathers.

The Eastern Conference remains up in the air with nearly a dozen teams capable of representing the conference in this year’s championship.  But the Nets have proven that good teams can always get better.  They have the talent, the depth and, most importantly, the experience to repeat as conference champs.

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