Luka’s Corner

The Nets main move of the 07 offseason was the re-signing of their star shooting guard Vince Carter. The New Jersey organization hopes that this move will get them even deeper into the Playoffs this season (the Conference Finals), since they truly believe that Carter is the leader of the team. I, on the other hand, think otherwise. As I have already said, I think that Carter is the reason why the Nets have been unable to move past the the 2nd round of the postseason in recent years. On paper, with Richard Jefferson and Jason Kidd, they should be contending for a championship year in and year out. But, Carter has changed his game so much lately that the Nets are unaware that it does not help their offensive scheme. He often settles for fadeaway threes when he should be attacking the rim. Now, we rarely see him going up in the air for creative finishes and explosive dunks. If he were to drive more, then Jefferson and Kidd would have even more space for themselves to operate and eventually score. That is why Kidd’s scoring average (only 13 PPG last season) and Jefferson’s have dropped so much lately.

The only other moves the Nets made were the releases of Eddie House and Mikki Moore to Boston and Sacramento. House’s absence will not be missed greatly in New Jersey because he received very limited minutes in 06-07, since his role was to play at the third PG position behind Kidd and Marcus Williams. Unlike House, Moore was a consistent contributor for New Jersey last season. He was their only scoring big man (other than the injured Nenad Krstic), and was even the league-leader in FG% (at .608). When New Jersey made the move with Moore, I immediately thought that it was know Krstic’s year to shine. Now, he has no one to compete with for playing time and the post scoring for New Jersey will mainly be coming from him. He will also have the rebounding load because of New Jersey’s lack of rebounding big men. Considering all this, I project his stats to be around 18.5 PPG and 8.4 RPG, along with 0.8-1 BPG (if he stays healthy).

Pros:

-The Nets have the most well-rounded PG in the league running their offense in Jason Kidd or, as we learned in the 07 Playoffs, Mr. Triple-Double.

-Kidd, Carter, and Jefferson form the most talented backcourt in the entire league.

-Nenad Krstic has the potential to be the league’s next dominant big man. Before his injury last season, he was already showing signs of great improvement, averaging a career-high 16.4 PPG and 6.8 RPG.

Cons:

-The Nets are mediocre at best on the defensive end, with Kidd as their only stopper on D.

-Even though Krstic is up and coming, the Nets still do not have anyone to carry the rebounding load, with their PG as their best rebounder.

-Carter’s game does not help NJ in any way, and it actually detracts the games of Jersey’s two other stars.

Predicted lineup:

C-Jason Collins, PF-Nenad Krstic, SF-Richard Jefferson, SG-Vince Carter, PG-Jason Kidd

6th man-Bostjan Nachbar, 7th man-Marcus Williams, 8th man-Jamaal Magloire

Predicted stat leaders:

Points-Vince Carter (23.4 PPG)

Rebounds-Nenad Krstic (8.4 RPG)

Assists-Jason Kidd (9.2 APG)

Blocks-Nenad Krstic (1 BPG)

Steals-Jason Kidd (1.5 SPG)

Final Prediction: The Nets will go to the Playoffs with a record of 45-37.

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