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reevaluating frank's benching
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 3:28 pm
by Da big3
BENCHING SENT MESSAGE TO NETS STARS
by Fred Kerber
Lawrence Frank may be playing the most dangerous game with the Nets.
Frank benched stars Vince Carter and Devin Harris after an atrocious team first half Saturday against the Celtics. Carter publicly said he understood the move. Harris pretty much said the same, but his annoyance was more evident.
So what happens now?
"I don't know. I really don't have any comment," said team president Rod Thorn, who deflected attempts to discuss the matter. Frank, who has done probably his best coaching with the NetsNew Jersey Nets (19-22) this season, acknowledged the status of the guys he benched.
"Devin and Vince are a big reason for our winning. This was a one-game situation," Frank said. "Those two are vital to our success."
But just about everyone around the organization is waiting to see the next move. Frank said he was "embarrassed" by the Nets' no-show first half in front of one of the largest home crowds of the season. Carter, Harris and reserve Josh Boone never re-entered.
"You explain why you do things and you move on," Frank said. "Different guys have sat at different times."
Two starters, Brook Lopez and Bobby Simmons, played and started in the second half. Lopez emerged as the Nets' best player. Simmons was awful, start to finish. Ryan Anderson, the fifth starter, was benched to start the third quarter but eventually re-entered. So apparent blame fell on the shoulders of Carter and Harris.
Carter and Harris were pretty bad, granted, but Frank's benching fingered them for not playing hard. Carter has been playing on a sore ankle, an injury he said has prevented him from getting lift and push-off on his shot. He suffered it in Boston on Wednesday (7-of-32 shooting since, including that game). But he played.
"It happened, and I'm OK with it," Carter said.
Said Harris: "We'll deal with it when the time comes. We don't decide who plays or not. That's Coach's decision . . . It took a lot of guts."
No one disputes Frank's right to bench a player. The one thing a coach controls is playing time. But by sitting basically only his two starting stars, Frank essentially said they gave no effort. If he benched the entire starting unit, the anxiety and eggshell walking sure to follow would be lessened.
If Carter and Harris go south, the path to the lottery will be wide open. They've lost three straight and now face a four-game trip that starts with New Orleans and San Antonio.
fred.kerber@nypost.com
intersting say by thorn, u think this is the move that puts frank on the hotseat, it has become bigger than expected, its on yahoo, so i hope this picks up more pubulicity...
Re: reevaluating frank's benching
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 5:01 pm
by MilBucksBackOnTop06
In New Jersey Lawerence Frank had the balls to bench Vince Carter and Devin Harris for the second half in a game against the NBA Champion Celtics in a sold out Meadowlands Arena....
Come on Frankie boy, don't get stupid here son. Don't get it twisted here. This is Devin and Vince's show not your's my friend!
That was dumb and risky if you ask me. As many games as Vince and Devin have pulled out of Frank's rear this year for him making him look good and he does this? You better be careful Mr Frank...
You are the coach, but you are not the show. You have not coached long enough in the league and have enough NBA rings for you to have the authority to pull that crap. Yes you got to an NBA Finals but remember it was with Jason Kidd, Jefferson and Carter and others running the show, not you!
Now I am not stupid. I understand a coaches perrogative to bench his star's if they are not in his view giving them all they had. That can be subjective and they could have had the flu and Boston could have been hot.
But whatever the reason, you better be careful benching then the entire half. It depends on the situation and the team they are playing. What message was he trying to send playing the Celtics!?
If he was benching them against the Oklahoma Thunder on the road or in front of a small crowd, that is one thing. I can see that. But to sit them against the NBA Champ Celtics and in front of a sellout crowd who came to see them...and not you coach!....You better be careful dummy!
LOL....this is not about you and your coaching my friend. That crowd did not come to see you man.
That took some balls! You better hope this does not cost you your job. Carter says he is cool with it, but he is lying....so is Devin.
Come on now...man. Be Honest with me here. You mean to tell me you are playing the Celtics and it is a sellout crowd and you are sitting for an entire half while you scrubs playing in place of you are getting their ass whupped and you have to sit and take it all in....and you are 'cool with that!?'
Come on now...Vince...If any player is ok with that...I don't know. I am all about the team but me and that coach would have to have a little chat after that. When Skiles does that to Redd or Bogut then that is different...NEITHER ONE OF THEM ARE STARS...LIKE CARTER AND HARRIS.
Watch your step Mr Frank!
Re: reevaluating frank's benching
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 5:50 pm
by Da big3
MilBucksBackOnTop06 wrote:In New Jersey Lawerence Frank had the balls to bench Vince Carter and Devin Harris for the second half in a game against the NBA Champion Celtics in a sold out Meadowlands Arena....
Come on Frankie boy, don't get stupid here son. Don't get it twisted here. This is Devin and Vince's show not your's my friend!
That was dumb and risky if you ask me. As many games as Vince and Devin have pulled out of Frank's rear this year for him making him look good and he does this? You better be careful Mr Frank...
You are the coach, but you are not the show. You have not coached long enough in the league and have enough NBA rings for you to have the authority to pull that crap. Yes you got to an NBA Finals but remember it was with Jason Kidd, Jefferson and Carter and others running the show, not you!
Now I am not stupid. I understand a coaches perrogative to bench his star's if they are not in his view giving them all they had. That can be subjective and they could have had the flu and Boston could have been hot.
But whatever the reason, you better be careful benching then the entire half. It depends on the situation and the team they are playing. What message was he trying to send playing the Celtics!?
If he was benching them against the Oklahoma Thunder on the road or in front of a small crowd, that is one thing. I can see that. But to sit them against the NBA Champ Celtics and in front of a sellout crowd who came to see them...and not you coach!....You better be careful dummy!
LOL....this is not about you and your coaching my friend. That crowd did not come to see you man.
That took some balls! You better hope this does not cost you your job. Carter says he is cool with it, but he is lying....so is Devin.
Come on now...man. Be Honest with me here. You mean to tell me you are playing the Celtics and it is a sellout crowd and you are sitting for an entire half while you scrubs playing in place of you are getting their ass whupped and you have to sit and take it all in....and you are 'cool with that!?'
Come on now...Vince...If any player is ok with that...I don't know. I am all about the team but me and that coach would have to have a little chat after that. When Skiles does that to Redd or Bogut then that is different...NEITHER ONE OF THEM ARE STARS...LIKE CARTER AND HARRIS.
Watch your step Mr Frank!
agree, and well stated, and im sure VC wasnt OK with that but what else do u want him to say?...
Re: reevaluating frank's benching
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 6:11 pm
by vincecarter4pres
This is about the 1st intelligent post I think I have ever read from MBOT, lol.
Edit: DaBig3, sick sig.
Re: reevaluating frank's benching
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 6:19 pm
by SteveNets15
MilBucksBackOnTop06 wrote: Yes you got to an NBA Finals but remember it was with Jason Kidd, Jefferson and Carter and others running the show, not you!
Just to make it clear it was Byron Scott who brought us to the NBA FINALS those two years not Lfranky stanky. And VC has never been past the 2nd round.Just helping you out with a lil NETS history thats all.
I don't think he should've benched the two players(in front of a sellout crowd)that put this team on there back all season and are the only reason this team is still in the playoff picture.But at the same time from doing what they've done all season it has both of them banged up so they can use the extra rest going into this road trip.
Quick question? If Devin and VC come out and drop 30 a piece on the Hornets and get the win will people still be mad at Lfranko for benchin them? probably lol
Re: reevaluating frank's benching
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 6:37 pm
by TDevilsG
I'm split on this, but I'm leaning towards having a negative perspective on Frank benching Devin Harris and Vince Carter. But in all honesty, the best measurement of how effective this benching actually was will be shown during the Nets next game after Boston and thereafter; this was a message sent by Lawrence that the leaders of this team weren't effective enough at the beginning of the game. Hopefully they'll open the game up with some fire for the next game.
Pros of Benching Harris and Carter:
-Indirectly, both players ended up getting some rest for the next game.
-A message has been sent to the rest of the team that they can't merely rely on Vince and Devin in order to win games. Everyone MUST step up.
-Nobody's position is safe. If a player isn't playing up to his capabilities, they can very well be punished for their lack of energy. This should light a fire under some people's asses hopefully.
Cons of Benching Harris and Carter:
-One of the most dangerous and efficient back courts in the entire league saw practically no playing time against THE team to beat in the east. There isn't a single other team in the East I would rather the Nets beat then the celtics because they ARE the best, and will undoubtedly be prime competition come playoff time.
-Who knows how Vince and Harris would have played in the second half of the game? Maybe the team would have had an actual shot at winning this game if their two best players were playing in the second half.
-It creates uncertainty, which in my eyes is a negative thing. Lawrence wants his team to feel confident and in control; not concerned about who's leading the team and who's not playing at all.
Like I said before, the true measure of how effective this benching was will be shown during the next game the Nets face. Hopefully we see a more coherent, productive and driven team as opposed to the past couple of days.
Re: reevaluating frank's benching
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 10:33 pm
by SpeedyG
Granted, I didn't see the game, so I can't tell what was going on and get a feel of it. BUT...If it was warranted, then I would applaud Frank. One of the criticisms we've had of him for awhile now is that he's regarded as a "player's coach". Most, I myself, believe that players thought of him as a "buddy" rather than a head coach, which is a person of authority.
This move puts a stop to that. If there are players in that locker room who think Frank can be pushed around, he just proved to them that while he can be a nice guy, he can put the hammer down when he thinks it is getting out of hand (why he didn't do this with Kidd/RJ/VC era is beyond me, but that's another story).
Re: reevaluating frank's benching
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 11:44 pm
by Da big3
vincecarter4pres wrote:This is about the 1st intelligent post I think I have ever read from MBOT, lol.
Edit: DaBig3, sick sig.
to tell u the truth i didnt make it, but it was on a website, and i liked it, thanks do, it is apperciated...
Re: reevaluating frank's benching
Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 3:56 pm
by S.I.C. GM
I do too have mixed feelings about this.
Bold move by Frank.
The next few games will tell us what the results of this action will be.
1- Harris and VC realize - Yeah WE are the high powered Backcourt in the NBA, but we have to play some defense.
2- Harris realizes - I am the PG of this team. I need to make everyone else better especially Lopez.
3- VC realizes - Get the Big guy involved and I pull a Kobe and finish this game in the fourth.
4- Rookies realizes - Ok clearly Frank isnt only picking on me. I can go out there a just play
The best result that can happen.
5- Nobody Realizes $hit!!! The team totally tunes out Frank for benching the team's best players realizing that FRANK is an IDIOT. That the reason they play like crap is because FRANK has no clue what he is doing. Thorn and Kiki come down on FRANK.
DOWN GOES FRANK!!!! DOWN GOES FRANK!!!! FRANK IS OUT OF HERE!!!!!!
Re: reevaluating frank's benching
Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 1:17 am
by vincecarter4pres
I'm starting to wonder if my fire opie outburst at the PDX game had something to do with the benching?
Re: reevaluating frank's benching
Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 5:06 am
by rag-time4
vincecarter4pres wrote:I'm starting to wonder if my fire opie outburst at the PDX game had something to do with the benching?
Harris had a terrible game against the Hornets today... coincidence?