Post by duce on May 19, 2007 20:52:23 GMT -5
The New Jersey Nets were one of the surprise teams in the first half of the 2008 UOSL season. It was no secret that since trading Kevin Garnett - to a division rival no less - for younger players and future picks that the Nets were just beginning their rebuilding phase.
Not many eyed them as the type of team to compete, and it looked arguably, that they could be the worst team in the league. So with 30 games left in the season, how are the Nets near the top of the league in wins?
Their lightning quick back court of Jason Kidd and Leandro Barbosa have been impressive, but clearly don't offer much explanation on how a team with so little offense and so little defense could possibly have been at the top of their conference. The team even went through multiple stretches of injuries to Jason Kidd, Al Jefferson and Llunga Didier-Mbenga while still winning a majority of their contests.
Recently however, New Jersey has been in a slump, and they have fallen back in the standings a bit. So what's the deal? Are they just going to fall off because they're a young team? Or... maybe their luck has just run out? Some have even suggested that Assistant General Manager, Gotrunks has cursed this team's second half record as the UOSL1 legend goes.
But perhaps it's something more logical. Since the absence of Jeff Foster due to his injury, the Nets have been very mediocre and very inconsistent offensively. The following stats may prove to be a coincidence or may offer reason:
Without Foster: 8-11
With Foster in limited PT: 8-6
With Foster playing a big roll: 13-5
(With Foster combined: 21-11)
New Jersey is nothing without big JF!
Could this be for real? Is Foster's offensive rebounding that important to the New Jersey offense? Surely he isn't more valuable to the team than Jason Kidd.
But the numbers do not lie in this case. The Nets have struggled to get enough scoring attempts without second chances. Foster's rebounding production has proven to be irreplaceable. No other player on the team can be given that honorable statement.
With Jeff out for a few more sims, the Nets can look forward to playing more .500 basketball at best. Maybe his supporting cast can step it up in the team's upcoming games. It sounds like a stretch but the team needs their MVP back, and until then they will likely struggle.
The fans chant: MVP! MVP! MVP!
Not many eyed them as the type of team to compete, and it looked arguably, that they could be the worst team in the league. So with 30 games left in the season, how are the Nets near the top of the league in wins?
Their lightning quick back court of Jason Kidd and Leandro Barbosa have been impressive, but clearly don't offer much explanation on how a team with so little offense and so little defense could possibly have been at the top of their conference. The team even went through multiple stretches of injuries to Jason Kidd, Al Jefferson and Llunga Didier-Mbenga while still winning a majority of their contests.
Recently however, New Jersey has been in a slump, and they have fallen back in the standings a bit. So what's the deal? Are they just going to fall off because they're a young team? Or... maybe their luck has just run out? Some have even suggested that Assistant General Manager, Gotrunks has cursed this team's second half record as the UOSL1 legend goes.
But perhaps it's something more logical. Since the absence of Jeff Foster due to his injury, the Nets have been very mediocre and very inconsistent offensively. The following stats may prove to be a coincidence or may offer reason:
Without Foster: 8-11
With Foster in limited PT: 8-6
With Foster playing a big roll: 13-5
(With Foster combined: 21-11)
New Jersey is nothing without big JF!
Could this be for real? Is Foster's offensive rebounding that important to the New Jersey offense? Surely he isn't more valuable to the team than Jason Kidd.
But the numbers do not lie in this case. The Nets have struggled to get enough scoring attempts without second chances. Foster's rebounding production has proven to be irreplaceable. No other player on the team can be given that honorable statement.
With Jeff out for a few more sims, the Nets can look forward to playing more .500 basketball at best. Maybe his supporting cast can step it up in the team's upcoming games. It sounds like a stretch but the team needs their MVP back, and until then they will likely struggle.
The fans chant: MVP! MVP! MVP!
