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Don't get me wrong, but I really noticed in the last 4 games our players are playing like a team.

Even with the loss to the Mavs, you can see our players' willingness to win.

We all know that the Melo rumors surfaced even before Favors set foot on the court. It has been a continuous source of distraction all season long.

Is it safe to assume that our players weren't focused during the 1st half of the season?
Does Proky putting end to the Melo chase win back our players' confidence?
Or is it because Lopez is asserting himself more and embracing his role well?

I know it's to early to get our hopes up, but at least it's evident that we are playing on a different level right now. I understand that in the last 3 wins, only the Jazz game is worth mentioning, since beating low-tiered teams like the Pistons & Cavs (with difficulty) shouldn't even be thought of.

But I really feel good about our current performance. I'm thrilled to see how Favors progress amidst Avery's lack of faith.

Is pulling the plug on the Melo deal the true reason why we're winning now?

Your thoughts...

I think most of it is schedule related to be honest. We lost 20 out of 24 games from Nov 30 - Jan 17th. 17 of those games were against current playoff teams and 9 of those games were on west coast trips. We played OKC twice, LAL twice, CHI twice, BOS once, ORL once.

There are natural ebbs and flows with every season, but add in the fact that we had been pretty short handed prior to Vujacic's arrival, with Harris and Farmar were both banged up and Morrow out over a month - on top of the Melo distractions hanging over the team for most of DEC/JAN. No big surprise that we lost a lot of close games.

Again most of those factors are normal in the ebbs and flows of a season. I think in normal circumstances this is a 30 win team and we will probably come close to that anyways. There is talent on this roster but there's a lot of inconsistency that I believe stems from a lack of consistent veteran leadership on the court AKA Harris.

How is Harris not a leader? He's been a total professional through out this entire thing.

Its more a matter of who were playing and not how were playing. We shocked Utah, beat a lowly Detroit, lost to a slumping Dallas team which is 3-7 in their last 10, and handed Cleveland their 17th straight loss. I think our little run should continue with Memphis, Indiana and Milwaukee next up no the schedule. Hopefully it is a matter of the team playing well and they can get those 3 wins.

It's exactly what Revolutionist just said, we just happen to be at home where we're not overly terrible (10-11) and we're facing bad teams or slumping teams.

I just want this team to get to 25 wins.. That would be a success in my honest opinion. We double last seasons efforts while maintaining a legit shot at getting the 1st pick.

jeff1624 wrote:I just want this team to get to 25 wins.. That would be a success in my honest opinion. We double last seasons efforts while maintaining a legit shot at getting the 1st pick.

Amen.

there is a noticeable difference in harris and lopez's play lately though ever since the rumors were put to rest. lopez is much more aggressive and harris is getting inside and taking a lot more tear drops and layups as opposed to the 20 ft jumpers hes been throwing up the whole season. i still want harris traded but im appreciating his efforts right now.

The Melo trade rumors are over so the team can finally focus on playing winning ball and building chemistry.

JoseRizal wrote:Don't get me wrong, but I really noticed in the last 4 games our players are playing like a team.

Even with the loss to the Mavs, you can see our players' willingness to win.

We all know that the Melo rumors surfaced even before Favors set foot on the court. It has been a continuous source of distraction all season long.

Is it safe to assume that our players weren't focused during the 1st half of the season?
Does Proky putting end to the Melo chase win back our players' confidence?
Or is it because Lopez is asserting himself more and embracing his role well?

I know it's to early to get our hopes up, but at least it's evident that we are playing on a different level right now. I understand that in the last 3 wins, only the Jazz game is worth mentioning, since beating low-tiered teams like the Pistons & Cavs (with difficulty) shouldn't even be thought of.

But I really feel good about our current performance. I'm thrilled to see how Favors progress amidst Avery's lack of faith.

Is pulling the plug on the Melo deal the true reason why we're winning now?

Your thoughts...

because Jose Rizal didn't just died for the Phillipines but for New Jersey too. jk

fendilim wrote:

JoseRizal wrote:Don't get me wrong, but I really noticed in the last 4 games our players are playing like a team.

Even with the loss to the Mavs, you can see our players' willingness to win.

We all know that the Melo rumors surfaced even before Favors set foot on the court. It has been a continuous source of distraction all season long.

Is it safe to assume that our players weren't focused during the 1st half of the season?
Does Proky putting end to the Melo chase win back our players' confidence?
Or is it because Lopez is asserting himself more and embracing his role well?

I know it's to early to get our hopes up, but at least it's evident that we are playing on a different level right now. I understand that in the last 3 wins, only the Jazz game is worth mentioning, since beating low-tiered teams like the Pistons & Cavs (with difficulty) shouldn't even be thought of.

But I really feel good about our current performance. I'm thrilled to see how Favors progress amidst Avery's lack of faith.

Is pulling the plug on the Melo deal the true reason why we're winning now?

Your thoughts...

because Jose Rizal didn't just died for the Phillipines but for New Jersey too. jk

Nice one bro! Nice one...

Although, do we really want to play ourselves out of a top pick? We would have the opportunity to nab one of the top picks and then really have something to build around with 3 talented young players. The draft pick can't say I don't want to go to the Nets and the pick doesn't even get paid $5 million per season. If we play ourselves out of a top draft pic, I'll be pretty pissed considering that we're not going to attract any top FAs in the next few years with our roster. We'll be the in the worst position for an NBA team: not good enough to make the playoffs but not bad enough to get a top-tier player in the draft to rebuild around. In my eyes, this is the last season where we actually need to suck so that we can get our third good draft pick and have a great young core to send to Brooklyn. We'd be much more attractive to a 2012 FAs with a core of Lopez/Favors/+ top draft pick (like Irving or one of the Joneses) then with the team we currently have constructed. I honestly don't want us to play great because it will be a greater benefit to us for the long term.

Let's say we get the 10th pick and yet we really want to get to the top 5 range. We'd probably have to trade Harris + future 1st(s) to move up. Well, if we play bad enough this season, we could get that 4th pick without a trade and use that potential trade to get a better PG, SG, or SF which we really need. The easiest and most beneficial thing for us to do for the future is to lose now so that we can win big later. Just look at Sacramento's position. They're currently in a position to get a Perry Jones and then they'll have a three of Evans/Jones/Cousins and they'd all be playing on their rookie contracts. That's sick! We should be doing something similar. I know a lot of us hate losing but if there is any season where it is actually important for us to get a top pick, it is this one. Injuries aside, if we get one of those top picks, we will be a force in the East pretty soon. We just need to be patient.

^^^ Couldn't agree more. We had to suffer through this crap for a few years now so lets finish strong (as in sucking it up) and land one more top 5 pick. At that point a promise to root for wins from there on out.

^^^^^^ Hold up are you guys talking about tanking games for a better pick??? I'll let Herm Edwards explain how i feel about that if you don't know me.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRxm0oGbnRI[/youtube]

stevieboy wrote:^^^^^^ Hold up are you guys talking about tanking games for a better pick??? I'll let Herm Edwards explain how i feel about that if you don't know me.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRxm0oGbnRI[/youtube]

This team is awful, it doesn't need to tank to lose games.

I still want my team to play hard every night and at least try to win.

stevieboy wrote:I still want my team to play hard every night and at least try to win.

So does everyone else. We're just being realistic, at this point a 25 win season is a success IMO.

jeff1624 wrote:

stevieboy wrote:I still want my team to play hard every night and at least try to win.

So does everyone else. We're just being realistic, at this point a 25 win season is a success IMO.

No doubt as long as the team is trying to win every game then i'm good.I wouldn't say 25 wins is a sucess but its certainly better than 12 wins thats for sure.

stevieboy wrote:^^^^^^ Hold up are you guys talking about tanking games for a better pick??? I'll let Herm Edwards explain how i feel about that if you don't know me.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRxm0oGbnRI[/youtube]

Ok, well there is a difference between tanking and straight up losing. And second, there is a difference between being a player and being a fan. Herm was addressing and asserting a player's and coaches mentality. Everyone in a Nets uniform wants to win and I support their desire to win 100%. I want them to try hard. They would like to win every game that they play because that is their profession. Would you want to suck at your job and have everyone laugh at your company because you're bad? Of course not.

But...when the Knicks, Nets, Heat, Clippers, Bulls and a few others cleared cap space last season, they intentionally did so just so they could have an OPPORTUNITY to get LBJ, Wade, Bosh, Amare, Boozer, etc. They purposefully did not sign players (who could have helped them get wins during the last 2-3 seasons) in preparation to have an opportunity to have a player that could help them for the next 8+ seasons. We all wanted in on the race to get a top FA. We were essentially tanking (i.e. not getting better players) because we didn't want to sign anyone or take on a new player that would eat away at cap space. We struck out big time there and came away with Farmar, Outlaw, Petro, and Morrow.

Now we have an opportunity again to get a player that will ultimately be a huge piece for the Nets for the next 10+ seasons and build on a talented young core. But that will not happen if we 1) make the playoffs or 2) are at the end of the lottery. I know the mantras, slogans, and mottos about winning and playing the game but this year's draft potentially has 5-7 future NBA stars like the class of '03. We have a chance to get a player who won't just be average but will most likely be a good to great player. I don't want to be the Sixers who barely make the playoffs get swept out of the first round but played too good to draft a player that will take them over the hump. I want to be the Thunder who sucked for a little bit but got a few players and are now one of the best in the West and who should be good for a long time. We've got a chance to really do what the Thunder have done by getting a stellar player on quickly rise in the standings for the next decade. But if we don't get that player this draft and we play good enough to just miss or just make the playoffs we will always be like the current Sixers. Unable to attract good players because we're not a contender and not able to get a rookie who will become a beast because we're ineligible for the lottery. I'm sorry but we've got a second chance to right this ship by getting the likes of Irving, the Joneses, and other great college players. And I don't want to miss out again on that opportunity.

stevieboy wrote:

jeff1624 wrote:

stevieboy wrote:I still want my team to play hard every night and at least try to win.

So does everyone else. We're just being realistic, at this point a 25 win season is a success IMO.

No doubt as long as the team is trying to win every game then i'm good.I wouldn't say 25 wins is a sucess but its certainly better than 12 wins thats for sure.

Yes, 12 wins is absolutely no good. We had the worst record and still did not get the first pick. But if we happen to have one of the worst records (i.e. bottom six) then while I can be happy that we didn't do well this season, I can be optimistic that we'll get a really good college player.

Hey i'm with you guys man.The only way the Nets are going to get a superstar is through draft.We've tried signing them and trading for them but its just not going to happen.Avery is not the right coach for a young team though and that worries me.