NEW JERSEY NETS (Mayo 2008 - Julio 2009) Zona de consulta para conocer cómo éramos antes Moderador: Louis de Funès

[underrated]

D'Alessandro sobre Anderson y Carter:

Ryan: Great kid, quick study, well-bred, slight sense of entitlement, bright future, and his 3-point percentage should soar being the second pass out of those Dwight doubles in the post. Think a tougher, more determined, more versatile Pat Garrity, just not quite as pure. Remember, though, he's only 21. Once he learns team defense, and improves his lateral quickness, you'll have a player.

Carter: Kind of hard to summarize the 10 (mostly illustrious) seasons of Carter's career, other than to note that he has -- with very few slips -- brought honor and class and unmatched pyrotechnics to the league that values all three. OK, maybe you don't know this: Of all the superstars you might encounter in this ego-driven business, you might not meet another guy who is more accessible, approachable, affable, and agreeable. Some say that part of his personality lacks the competitiveness or edge he needs to be one of the greats. To which I say: I don't care. To be great in this league, you have to have two things: Consistency, and the ability to do it late. I'd put Vince in the "pretty damn good" category, and a likely Hall of Famer for helping save the league in the post-Jordan age. But I also admire him for not chasing an image, or trying to live up to the expectations, or seeing himself only through the eyes of others. He's very comfortable in his own skin, and for someone of his accomplishments, that's the best measure of the man.

[underrated]

Ayer perdimos en las SL contra Indiana en la prórroga. CDR 20 pts con 6-12 tiros, Terrence Williams 1-8 tiros, con 9 rebotes, 2 asistencias, 2 robos y 3 tapones. Hoy jugamos contra Utah.

[underrated]

Rafer Alston imparts on- and off-court wisdom as Panthers' head coach
By Ebenezer Samuel
Daily news sports writer

Monday, July 6th 2009, 6:55 PM


Nine-year NBA veteran Rafer Alston huddles with New York Panthers' 17-and-under team before scrimmage last Tuesday in Manhattan.

He shouldn't be here. He's just weeks removed from helping the Orlando Magic reach the NBA Finals, days removed from the trade that brought him and two Magic teammates to the New Jersey Nets in exchange for Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson.

He should be resting his 32-year-old legs, avoiding the court like people avoid the plague: he'll be in the final year of his contract this winter, and any injury hurts his chances of earning a big deal.

Rafer Alston knows all of this but cares little. On this Thursday, he's in an empty gym in the Bronx, playing short one-on-one games with some members of the New York Panthers club team - first Cardozo's Ryan Rhoomes, then Wings Academy's Dashaun Wiggins, then Lee Academy's Winston Graham.

When Alston drives, he gets thwacked in the head, slapped on the forearm, smacked on the shin. But he keeps playing, telling the Panthers to be "more aggressive," until a security guard announces that it's time to lock up.

"The kids needed that … they need the skill work," Alston says. "Me being out there, it gets them fired up."

He rubs the cut on the back of his head he received from a Rhoomes elbow. As a Panthers coach, Alston knows that bruises come with the territory. Over the next two months, he'll guide the 17-and-under squad through a string of exposure tournaments, run practices and work individually with each player.

Alston has been doing this for the past three summers. He says it's helping prepare him for a future in coaching and he's sharing his wisdom about on- and off-court struggles with aspiring players.

"I want to coach one day, so I get to do that while I'm still playing," he says. "And hopefully I'm helping these kids stay on the right path, stay away from some of the mistakes that I made."

Alston's missteps forced him to take a circuitous route to the NBA, which often leads people to forget his high school success. He's still known as "Skip to My Lou," a nickname he garnered on streetball courts for his penchant for skipping as he dribbled. He's still known for spawning the And1 Mixtape craze: In 1998, Cardozo HS coach Ron Naclerio gave the fledgling sneaker company a videotape of Alston's streetball moves. Before he played a game in the NBA, Alston signed an endorsement deal with And1 and was featured on the company's first Mixtape.

Few realize that he starred at Cardozo. Naclerio says he averaged more than 25 points per game as a sophomore.

"Just as quickly as he made a name for himself in high school, he erased himself from high school with his academic woes," Naclerio says.

Alston failed off the team and played 10 total games as a junior and senior. He says he was "hanging out with too many different people."

He wound up spending two semesters at the Laurinburg Institute, a prep school in North Carolina, then attended two junior colleges before landing at Fresno State for a season. He was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of the 1998 NBA Draft.

Six years later, Alston signed a multi-year deal with the Toronto Raptors and started 78 games. He was traded to Houston before the 2005-06 season, and then to Orlando last February. He's become a consistent contributor, but he knows that his reputation might have been much different if he hadn't fumbled his way through high school.

"I can play any style," he says. " … people see the streetball, but I can play any style. I'm a student of the game; I've always been a student of the game."

That's one of the first things that incoming players learn about Alston. The antics that made him "Skip to My Lou" - the behind-the-back crossovers and showboat moves and no-look passes - are all but barred from Panther practices.

Alston preaches a fundamental game, stressing defense and smart shot selection and hoops IQ, adding that not enough coaches in the city focus on those things. He says he loves coaching the Panthers, partly because they don't have a star; everyone on the team must work to improve.

"Guys like Lance Stephenson, O.J. Mayo, they're ahead of their time," he says. "With stars, you deal with egos. These kids, they just want to learn and get better."

Before a scrimmage last Tuesday, he spent a half-hour walking the Panthers through a proper pick-and-roll defense. When the game began, he asked that the scoreboard be turned off so players could concentrate on the little things. He threw his clipboard when his squad struggled to rebound, and he called a timeout after one bucket because his team hadn't correctly executed the play.

"He's teaching the fundamentals first," says Cardozo's Reynaldo Walters, a second-year Panther. "He was a lot more strict than I thought."

Alston is especially strict on Walters, frequently texting him and reminding him to stay focused in the classroom. Even two months ago - in the middle of the Magic-Celtics series - he sent a text message to Naclerio, telling the coach to keep an eye on Walters.

"He's a knucklehead," Alston says of Walters. "Just like I was."

He pauses for a moment.

"I don't want these kids to go to JUCO like I did," he adds. "Some of them may (attend prep school before college), but they shouldn't have to, if they handle themselves in the classroom now."

Alston sounds like a broken record, repeating the "stay in school" phrase that every youngster has heard many times over, but players still hang on his words.

"He's been where a lot of us have," Walters says. "He's the same as all of us."

At least for another few years. Alston tells people that's as long as he may play, that he only has "three or four years" left in his legs.

After that, he says, he'll move onto coaching, maybe in college, perhaps alongside Naclerio at Cardozo, maybe for another few years with the Panthers.

"Whatever opens up," he says. "But this is where I got my start. And this is what I really want to do."

[underrated]

Courtney Lee:

“I’m prepared for all situations, whether offense or defense. I watch a lot of film so I can get more in tune with the other team’s personnel,” he says. “But what I’ve really learned from the Playoffs is that I can play with anybody, I can be a dominant scorer and be one of the go-to guys on this team.”

Venga hombre.

[underrated]

July 6, 2009
TWill's Summer Debut
By FRED KERBER

Last year, Earl Calloway pretty much mopped the floor with Derrick Rose in Rose's Summer League Debut in Orlando.

So don't get too crazy about Terrence Williams shooting 1-of-8 in his first time on the floor as a Net. Williams didn't. Neither did coach Lawrence Frank.

"Defensively, he was good, very good," praised Frank who begged, pleaded, implored and bribed his Nets to defend last season. "And I thought he was the best passer out there on our team."

And Williams did other things Monday. He rebounded - grabbing nine. He blocked three shots. He had two steals and collected two assists. He did a little bit of everything.

Except shoot.

"The thing is he didn't get a lot of shots in the flow of the offense," Frank, who really did sound unconcerned (along with a tad tired as he flew back from a coaching clinic in Greece in time to attend the Summer League), said via phone. "I'm sure as the week goes on he's going to simply get more comfortable and get better opportunities."

One problem is that the Nets and Sixers have sort of gone halfsies on the team. It's a combined team - the Nets have Williams and Chris Douglas-Roberts, the Sixers have Jrue Holiday and Marreese Speights. And then there's a bunch of other guys.

The Sixer duo combined for 37 shots. The two Nets got 20 (CD-R was 6-of-12, scored 20, shot 11 free throws). But with a dual coaching staff, it's tough. Everybody wants to call plays for their own guys.
* * *
Williams officially was signed by the Nets earlier in the day. "It's good in case, God forbid, something happened," the 6-6 wing from Louisville said.

Williams gets $2.06 and $2.214 million in the first two years of his rookie pact. The third ($2.369 mil) and fourth ($3.143 mil) years are at team option.

"I really didn't even know it was officials until someone said, 'Congratulations.' It feels good to be a Net," Williams said in a phone interview, noting one drawback.

"Everyone can go on the Internet and find out what I make."

Life is tough.
* * *
Nets first summer league game went overtime. There is electrocution. There is water boarding. There is overtime in Summer League.

Williams could have prevented it but he missed a jumper in the closing half-minute from about 19 feet.

"It was short. I didn't know how much time was on the clock. But it's the same shot I'll shoot tomorrow with confidence," he said. "I look at everything from an overall standpoint. There were a few in-and-out shots, but I'm going to continue to shoot. I'm not going to get down about that (pre-OT shot). I'll just come back with a different mindset."
* * *
The final was 75-67, Pacers. Tyler Hansbrough scored 17 for Indy team. . .Nets/Sixers face Utah Tuesday at 5 p.m. . .Games can be seen, sort of, on Orlandomagic.com. Small window shows the court and two announcers, Dante and Galante, are pretty funny with no desire to be there. .Williams gave big credit to Chris Douglas-Roberts for helping him ease in and feel comfortable. . .Numerous folks inside Nets say same thing: don't hope for Wednesday signings in free agency. Nets figure to wait until the dust settles and maybe grab someone who thought they were worth lots for less. Or maybe they can do something with the likes of Linas Kleiza, Jamario Moon, Hakim Warrick, Chris Wilcox and Melvin Ely. Ideally, they would love a 2-for-1 as they have 15 contracts.

[underrated]

¿¿ese crack compro el equipo por 100 millones de dolares y lo vendio por 300 no underrated??

la verdad que lo recuerdo asi y si es cierto es que no le quedaba otro por muy fan que fuera

Katz y Chambers compraron los Nets en el '98 por $150 millones.

[underrated]

[slipktein]

Vaya morros que gasta el amigo.

[underrated]

Ya lo hemos comentado alguna vez, se gasta unos morracos serios TWill.

Algunas notas de David Thorpe:

Sobre Williams:

Williams has great feet on defense, but defending Rush on a dribble drive is not that hard.

Williams makes nice and easy passes.

Terrence Williams looked lost on offense, but he already looks like a rebounding machine.

Sobre CDR:

CDR has an old man's game. And I mean that as a huge compliment. He's crafy and smart, and will be playing this way for a decade plus.

Sobre nuestro ex Ryan Anderson:

Ryan Anderson has a lot of work to do on his body. But he's not just a shooter. He's a player.

[Twin]

Courtney Lee:

“I’m prepared for all situations, whether offense or defense. I watch a lot of film so I can get more in tune with the other team’s personnel,” he says. “But what I’ve really learned from the Playoffs is that I can play with anybody, I can be a dominant scorer and be one of the go-to guys on this team.”

Venga hombre.

Brook Lopez dijo que podia ser uno de los mejores de todos los tiempos, que lo digan estos que por lo menos juegan bien tiene un pase aunque se flipen muchisimo, ahora cuando sale Bobby Simmons diciendo que es mas completo que RJ o que para a LB a la perfeccion ya es para descojonarte bien.

[underrated]

Bobby Simmons NUNCA ha dicho que para a LeBron James a la perfeción.

[Twin]

bueno joder, que cuando jugo con los Bucks paraba a Lebron James muy bien, algo asi dijo, no me acuerdo exactamente, pero era algo de defender a LJ y tirandose flores.

[Twin]

el partido de ayer lo estuve viendo un rato y la verdad que lo quite de lo petardazo que era, muchas perdidas por parte de los dos equipos y en nuestro equipo Speights se lo tiraba todo, se notaba que no habian jugado nunca juntos y cada uno iba un poco a su bola.

[J.J Redick]

a ver si Redick se pasa y nos comenta la evolucion en el tiro de T-Will en los años que ha estado en la universidad y si le ve con visos de mejorar ese aspecto del juego.

El problema de T-Will es su irregularidad en el tiro capaz de enchufarte 5 seguidas como de fallar 5 seguidas, no tiene término medio, pero en su último año universitario ha sido un poquito más consistente que en sus años anteriores.

Un saludo

[Twin]

a ver si Redick se pasa y nos comenta la evolucion en el tiro de T-Will en los años que ha estado en la universidad y si le ve con visos de mejorar ese aspecto del juego.

El problema de T-Will es su irregularidad en el tiro capaz de enchufarte 5 seguidas como de fallar 5 seguidas, no tiene término medio, pero en su último año universitario ha sido un poquito más consistente que en sus años anteriores.

Un saludo

igualito a Jason Kidd entonces

[underrated]

bueno joder, que cuando jugo con los Bucks paraba a Lebron James muy bien, algo asi dijo, no me acuerdo exactamente, pero era algo de defender a LJ y tirandose flores.

Antes de un partido contra los Cavs esta pasada temporada dijo que en recientes enfrentamientos le había defendido "bastante bien". Es un poco pues eso , pero es que que hubiera dicho que para al Rey a la perfección habría sido una fanfarronada demasiado grande hasta para Bobby.

[Twin]

bueno joder, que cuando jugo con los Bucks paraba a Lebron James muy bien, algo asi dijo, no me acuerdo exactamente, pero era algo de defender a LJ y tirandose flores.

Antes de un partido contra los Cavs esta pasada temporada dijo que en recientes enfrentamientos le había defendido "bastante bien". Es un poco pues eso , pero es que que hubiera dicho que para al Rey a la perfección habría sido una fanfarronada demasiado grande hasta para Bobby.

algo de eso me sonaba, el caso es que luego miramos y LJ en esos partidos habia metido uno 30 puntos

[hoskych]

Las summer leagues son una bacalá, los partidos son realmente infumables. Sí que sirven para adivinar algún que otro detalle de algún jugador, pero más allá de eso son menos serios que mis pachangas con los colegas.

[alexbohemia]

pero es que que hubiera dicho que para al Rey a la perfección habría sido una fanfarronada demasiado grande hasta para Bobby.

Para Bobby no hay nada imposible...

No os sorprendais si ahora sale diciendo que es el nuevo hombre franquicia de los Nets con la marcha de VC.

La verdad es que Bobby es un pack completo; bocazas, paquete y sobrepagado, lo tiene todo.

[alexbohemia]

Y este crack... esta haciendo meritos para superar a Simmons como bocazas oficial de la liga.

NBA: Brandon Jennings se disculpa por decir "que se joda Ricky" y "que se jodan lo Knicks"

tubasket


Pero me cae bien el bueno de Brandon, ya que ni Ricky ni los Knicks me caen demasiado bien...