How would you compare the Net's frontcourt this season relative to the other teams in the East or the NBA in general?
Granted they still don't have the JO or Gasol type player they wanted to land but they still have:
Nenad Krstic - who, while coming off sugrery, was showing he could be a 17/7type player with one of the better jumpers from a big man.
Jamal Magloire - No, he's not an all-star anymore, nor did he ever really deserve to be, he still is a tough player with good offensive and defensive skills.
Malik Allen - The next Mikki Moore? He has a nice shot and is good vet to have off the bench.
Josh Boone - Another player coming off surgery. He showed in stretches last year he has nice hands, but still lacked much intensity.
Sean Williams - Raw, but talented. Not much should be expected of him this season, but then again he has the tools to be a good fastbreak and defensive player.
Jason Collins - Yeah, yeah. We know how much his offense sux, and some think even his defense is overrated. I, for one, do not think his defense or contributions to the team in general are overrated.
Magloireaveraged nearly a double double in 05'-06' with Milwaukee he was just a bad fit in Portland. I think they have a solid frontcourt..2 legit starters, a very talented young PF, and the most important thing for a team trying to contend everyone of their big men are veterans except Krstic and Williams.
Magloireaveraged nearly a double double in 05'-06' with Milwaukee he was just a bad fit in Portland. I think they have a solid frontcourt..2 legit starters, a very talented young PF, and the most important thing for a team trying to contend everyone of their big men are veterans except Krstic and Williams.
I almost consider Krstic a veteran or at least a seasoned player by now. He has been with this team for 3 years and was thrown into the fire halfway through his rookie campaign. He has produced the entire time, other than his playoff collapse against Miami the 2nd time around... even the 1st time around he played Miami well. He also has foreign team experience to build upon.
The other thing I like about this team is their abililty to play good individual and team D and often times neutralize the frontcourt players on the other team that appear to have a big advantage on paper.
Certainly above average, but I'd say damned good. They have good rebounding at the 4-5 starter spots. I think you can expect double digits form both, or near it in Magloire's case. And they've got capable guys off the bench to replace them.
The perfect scenario is if Williams or Boone can step up and become starter quality in order to add some athleticism for Kidd to run with, but still.
Nenad Krstic - who, while coming off sugrery, was showing he could be a 17/7type player with one of the better jumpers from a big man.
It's going to depend entirely on if he lost anything being out all season last year. If he's at least as good as he was the year before, or on track in improving from there, he'll definitely be an asset for them. He's got good range and isn't afraid to mix it up inside. I really don't know where he's at in his recovery/rehabilitation, but I wouldn't imagine he'd be starting right away.. but who knows? If he's not starting by the all star break, something's definitely wrong.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChuckOakley
Jamaal Magloire - No, he's not an all-star anymore, nor did he ever really deserve to be, he still is a tough player with good offensive and defensive skills.
I didn't get to see him at all last year in Portland, but he never had anything all that great or flashy to his game anyway. His one all star year was a fluke, but his production with the Hornets was a result of consistency and effort. As long as he's willing to do that in Jersey, he'll be fine. I'd be shocked at anything less than 11ppg and 8rpg, but I think he'll be more like 14-15ppg and just over 10rpg.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChuckOakley
Malik Allen - The next Mikki Moore? He has a nice shot and is good vet to have off the bench.
Definitely not. I think Magloire or Boone will be their Mikki Moore replacement. I got to watch a -lot- of Malik Allen here last season. He's great when it comes to putting forth an effort and has a really good jump shot for his size, but every time he does something well he just gives off this feeling that you're literally seeing him playing at the best of his ability. Malik really reminded me of Bill Wennington, and as big, slow, old and fairly one dimensional as old Beef Wellington was, you still couldn't sleep on him because he'd drill that outside J all day long and could still board and bang, he’s just not starter material because he can’t do it consistently, and he can’t do much more than that. A great backup to have, but not if you need to rely on him.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChuckOakley
Josh Boone - Another player coming off surgery. He showed in stretches last year he has nice hands, but still lacked much intensity.
He seemed like he was really feeling things out last year, especially coming off of his original injury. Even though he’s coming off of another surgery, he’ll at least be in familiar territory and hopefully won’t have as much of a deer in the headlights reaction. What he did show in very little time was promising though, and made Moore expendable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChuckOakley
Jason Collins - Yeah, yeah. We know how much his offense sux, and some think even his defense is overrated. I, for one, do not think his defense or contributions to the team in general are overrated.
I’m with you. I don’t think Jason Collins is overrated at all, but then again I’m a Chicagoan, we’re used to having less important players in the middle. “Just put in a big guy to give me the ball back so I can shoot again!” However, Collins is a smart basketball player. Last year they were running all of those shows on NBA training camps on NBA.com TV and you got to see just how much the team works with, through and relies upon “Twin”. He knows their offense better than some of the coaches and I think you can pretty much book it now that he’ll end up being an assistant coach with Lawrence Frank as soon as his playing days are over. It’s his knowledge of the offense, his attention to the little details, the effort he puts in, and the lack of ego over stats that make Jason Collins an important asset to the Nets. He’s only been starting out of necessity, and once he can pass that role over to Magloire, he’ll be a valuable reserve for them.
The Nets look really good on paper, but unfortunately they tend to be just about as fragile as paper. If they can stay healthy, they should go a little deeper into the playoffs this year, but that’s a big if. Especially since for the last few seasons there have been plenty of major injuries to key players really early in the season. I doubt the Nets will come through unscathed.
I think the Nets will suprise everyone. Kidd is good for 13 ppg, 7 rpg and 9 apg every year, Carter has averaged about 26 ppg since joining New Jersey and this year started training back for the upcoming season in May, Jefferson had a whole offseason to get healthy again same goes for Krstic plsu they have added frontcourt depth and some of their young players should get better.
Interior play will be the Nets biggest weakness. The only interior player the Nets have that can effectively play the screen and roll game which dominate the offense is Nenad Krstic.
That's why Mikki Moore looked so good last season. The Nets offense is dominated by the one thing Moore does well, screen and roll.
The offensive questions plus the fact that none of the guys are especially good defenders to me means that interior play is the biggest question mark and hardly something to be confident about.
Interior play will be the Nets biggest weakness. The only interior player the Nets have that can effectively play the screen and roll game which dominate the offense is Nenad Krstic.
That's why Mikki Moore looked so good last season. The Nets offense is dominated by the one thing Moore does well, screen and roll.
The offensive questions plus the fact that none of the guys are especially good defenders to me means that interior play is the biggest question mark and hardly something to be confident about.
I'd call Collins and Magloire good defenders. I also would not call any one else a below average defender upfront. I'm not sure about last year's stats, but the Nets for the 2 years prior to last were among the leaders in fewest points in the paint allowed. Also, with Frank's defensive schemes, the interior defense is pretty solid. Their two biggest weakness up front were rebounding and shotblocking which should be aided by the additions of Magloire and Sean Williams. Josh Boone may also end up making some strides defensively as he's added upper body strength in his rehab as has Krstic. Speaking of strides.. they're saying Marcus Williams has looked amazing this offseason and has shed alot of pounds.
Last edited by ChuckOakley : 09-21-2007 at 01:48 PM.
KO King, while I agree with you for the most part, I've been thoroughly impressed with Boone. I wasn't big on him in college cause of his weak play, especially with Jai Lewis destroying him...But it seems as if he just played his game last year, credit Jason Kidd or Bill Cartwright, but I'm hopeful for him to be a solid guy.
KO King, while I agree with you for the most part, I've been thoroughly impressed with Boone. I wasn't big on him in college cause of his weak play, especially with Jai Lewis destroying him...But it seems as if he just played his game last year, credit Jason Kidd or Bill Cartwright, but I'm hopeful for him to be a solid guy.
I have no faith in Boone at all. He's a doesn't always come with the same "motor".
He's from Maryland and all the guys I spoke to that watched him during HS/AAU said he was the same way back then. Until I truly see that switch flip in his head he's on my chump list.
Hopefully, he'll finally "get it" and prove me wrong.
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