Even with the Nets getting handed their 66th loss yesterday, their is excitement among the fanbase.  The reason?  Al Iannazzone's report that the Nets are ready to make Mike Krzyzewski a big offer to becme their next head coach.  From the article:

Krzyzewski has been reluctant to leave Duke. But if the Blue Devils beat Butler and Krzyzewski wins his fourth national championship, it could help the Nets’ chances. He would be able to leave on top and tackle new challenges.

Krzyzewski turned down a five-year, $40 million offer to coach Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in 2004. The Nets’ offer likely will be between $12 million and $15 million per season for Krzyzewski to be their coach and perhaps general manager, a source said.

If Prokhorov gets his way this off-season, Krzyzewski could be coaching his final game for Duke tonight when the Blue Devils face Butler for the NCAA championship.

Before we talk about the impact Coach K will have, let's talk about whether or not he would accept the proposed offer, and what an offer it is.  The Lakers' offer that Coach K turned down a few years ago was $8 million per, the rumored offer from Prokhorov is $4 to $7 million more than that.

Looking back at when the Lakers offered Coach K their coaching spot, he almost accepted it.  Eventually he turned it down, but since them some things have changed when it comes to Coach K and the college basketball landscape.  First, he has been coaching the Olympic team for some time now, and because of that he was able to be around NBA players (even crediting them with helping him become a better coach).  Also, since the Lakers made their offer, the NCAA has instituted their one and done rule.  Since Luol Deng, I don't remember a one a done player that has played for Duke and this is because Coach K simply refuses to recruit them.  Before the one-and-done rule, these guys were going to the NBA straight out of college, now they are forced to play a year in college.  While Coach K doesn't recruit them, other coaches don't seem to have the same problem, and this has lead to a lack of success for the Duke program in terms championships (this year seems to be the exception).  You also have the NCAA expanding their tournament to 96 teams, and while most coaches are in love with it (more teams in the tournament means more coaches getting their and improving their resumes), it could make reaching the Final Four more difficult.  All of these factors, in addition to the crazy sum of money being offered, could sway Coach K to take the leap to the NBA.

Now if Coach K does take the job, will it work?  As a Nets fan, I am not really a fan of college coaches in the NBA (remember coach Cal?), but Coach K would be different.  As I mentioned earlier, Coach K has experience working with NBA players.  Because of this, he is not only familiar with how NBA players operate, but he has the respect of NBA players (this is something that most college coaches don't have).  While I have never really been a fan of Coach K or Duke, I think this is the kind of move that will make the Nets much better.

Sebastian Pruiti

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Truth About It | BulletsForever

For some reason I was expecting the Nets to come out energized last night.  The Nets were coming off of a blowout against the New Orleans Hornets where no starter played more than 27 minutes (Brook), and the bench minutes were split evenly as well.  Obviously, that didn't happen.  As lackluster as the Hornets looked two nights ago, the Nets were just as bad, maybe even worse.  They just looked slow the entire game as the offensive wasn't crisp and the defensive rotations were slow (if they even happened at all).

There are teams that other teams just seem to struggle against.  We have witnessed it in our favor as the Nets just seem to have to Bobcats' number.  On the flip side, the Washington Wizards just seem to have the Nets' number.  Most of it is simply match-ups.  Overall, the Wizards' talent level is equal with the Nets, but where the Wizards excel, the Nets struggle.  Andray Blatche is a great offensive talent, while Yi is one of the worst defensive PFs in the NBA.  Blatche has killed the Nets in the past three games, and tonight was no different.  Blatche was 1 rebound away from a triple-double, putting up 20 points, 13 assists, and 9 rebounds.  The Nets seemed determine to force someone else to beat them, and they doubled Blatche every chance they got in the first quarter.  However, unlike when they doubled Tim Duncan, the strategy wasn't successful last night.  Part of it was the poor rotations due to the back to back, but another aspect is that Blatche can handle the ball farther out (than a guy like Duncan), and that forces the double to come from longer distances.  Because of that, Blatche is able to survey the court and make the correct pass.  He had 8 assists in the first quarter, but this was maybe the most frustrating:

Here, Blatche makes the catch so far out, that Brook Lopez is hesitant on whether to double or not.  That slight hesitation is what allows Blatche to find Shaun Livingston who was allowed to cut backdoor due to a defensive breakdown by Devin Harris.  Poor defensive rotations is what basically put the Nets out of their misery late in the fourth quarter:

Down 6, the Nets offense started to click, and they badly needed a stop.  Instead, the above happened.  It is funny how the Wizards broadcast cut to that angle right when the play started, as if they were expecting it.  Either way, you can just see the gap that Javale McGee has to drive through to finish with the dunk.

On the offensive end, Brook Lopez seemed to be the only Net who was really into any type of groove.  However, the Nets seemed to fall into that old pattern where they forget to get him the basketball.  The Wizards didn't have anyone who was big enough to stop him, and when Brook was making the catch down low, he was either finishing or drawing the foul (22 points on 6-12 shooting with 10-11 from the line).  The Nets looked to be out of it early in the 2nd quarter, but after using Brook exclusively they were able to go on a 9-2 run and cut the Wizards lead to 7.  After those possessions late in the second, I thought the Nets finally "got it" and realized that they need to get the ball to Brook in close.  However, this was the first possession for the Nets:

Your eyes aren't fooling you, Brook Lopez makes his post up at the three point line and ends up making a catch 35 feet away from the basket.  Part of it is on Brook for floating out that far out, but some of it is on the coaching staff for not running a play that puts Brook right on the block.

Some more thoughts after the jump:

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Sebastian Pruiti

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More to come later on this, but it looks like Mikhail Prokhorov is looking to make Coach K. a hell of an offer.

What a difference a year makes. Dave D'Alessandro on Terrence Williams: You can tell him something, and he’ll learn it in five minutes because he trusts coaches – especially Nets assistant Doug Overton – and he’s not a yes-sir type of rookie who then tries to do it his own way.

Meanwhile, TWill, thinks John Wall should make the leap to the NBA: "With him able to be the No.1 or No.2 pick, it's hard to go away from that," Williams said of Wall. "Let's say he's playing summer ball and he gets hurt and misses the entire year, then he's got to come back the following year to prove himself and then he may be the 28th pick. The difference would be millions of dollars."

Al Iannazzone says Kiki Vandeweghe blamed himself last night for the loss.

Matt Moore at Pro Basketball Talk gushes about a Nets starting five that features Amare Stoudemire.

Nets Daily looks at how to get Rudy Gay.

Mark Ginocchio

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I didn't think the Nets were going to show any signs of fatigue tonight, with the bench logging a good amount of minutes, however that wasn't the case.  If the Nets performance last night defensively was the best we have seen, tonight could have been the worst as the Nets lost to the Wizards 109-99.

• I know a lot of you didn't see that game, and that was probably a good thing.  The defensive rotations were off the entire night.  So much so, that Blatche (the man the Nets doubled) picked up 8 assists in the first quarter.  The Wizards were allowed to crack the 100 point mark for the first time in 20 games.
• Devin Harris put up a quiet 22, but he struggled on the offensive end.  The only player that looked like he was clicking was Brook Lopez who also put in 22 on 12 shots.
• There are some teams that just present match-up problems for other teams (think Nets vs. Bobcats).  With how the Wizards are currently constructed, they aren't much better talent wise, but they just are a tough match-up for the Nets.  Especially Blatche who was running around the court like a chicken with his head cut off trying to get a triple double.
• Terrence Williams had another solid game but had a key turnover when he tried to throw a full court bounce pass down 5 late.  Rookie mistake that happens, just poor timing of it.

Sebastian Pruiti

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First off, Happy Easter everyone!  Today's game isn't going to be televised, which sucks, but it also makes you realize how lucky you are as a Nets fan that we have a station dedicated to playing Nets games.  There are teams (good ones), who have a large chunk of go untelevised.

Anyway, onto the preview.  Coming off their best performance of the year, the Nets now have another winnable game against the Washington Wizards.  The Wizards have been struggling as of late (they just snapped a 16 game losing streak), and they might have provided the Nets with some poster-board material:

The above video is from the great Washington Wizards blog (and TrueHoop Network member) TruthAboutIt, and in it, Nick Young says "We ain't trying to be like a New Jersey Net" (right around the 30 second mark).  The Wizards have eked out a few wins against the Nets, but with the Nets playing some of their best basketball (and the Wizards playing some of their worst), I think the Nets can come away with this one.  Onto the lineups...

Devin Harris vs. Shaun Livingston

Advantage:  Devin Harris

Courtney Lee vs. Nick Young

Advantage:  Courtney Lee

Jarvis Hayes vs. Mike Miller

Advantage:  Mike Miller

Yi vs. Andray Blatche

Advantage:  Andray Blatche

Brook Lopez vs. Fabricio Oberto

Advantage:  Brook Lopez

Sebastian Pruiti

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Hornets 24/7 | At The Hive

In most instances I don't like to use +/- for a one game sample size, but Terrence Williams +/- of +26 during yesterday's  win against the New Orleans Hornets is a very telling stat.  T-Will was the one player on the Nets who made things go.  Sure he only had 14 points (7-13 shooting), but his shot selection was real impressive.  I think my favorite play was on a fast break in the first half where Williams pushed the ball all the way into the lane where he hit an eight foot jumper.  Earlier in the year, the 8-footer would have been a three pointer (as noted by Marv Albert and Jim Spanarkel), and that really shows the growth Terrence Williams had made throughout the year.  Where Williams really shined last night though was when he was passing the ball.  T-Will racked up 14 assists to go along with his 14 points, with a lot of them coming off the dribble.  The pass off the dribble might be the hardest one for NBA players to make, and Williams makes it look easy.  The ability to pass it off the dribble instead of gathering oneself and then making the pass allows for the pass to get their quicker, giving the player who makes the catch more time to get the shot up.

As Williams told Ben Couch, he wasn't the only one who played well:

“It wasn’t only me,” Williams said. “I did some things, but you’ve got to credit my teammates – they hit the shots. I would say that I had a little energy tonight, but that’s my job. When you come off the bench and you’re the energy guy, you’ve got to come in with energy.”

The Nets' depth has been their biggest problem this year, but for one night, it was really sparked the team.  All 11 players who got in the game for the Nets (Trenton Hassell was the only active player who didn't play) scored, with 8 of them getting into double figures.  The second unit played very well against the Hornets, especially in the third quarter.  The Nets were in one of their patented 3rd quarter funks, but then the bench came in and closed the third with a little 6-0 run that expanded the Nets lead from 7 to 13, effectively putting the game away.

Some more thoughts after the jump:

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Sebastian Pruiti

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In what was easily the best game of the year, the Nets win this one 115 to 87.  As expected, the Hornets were sluggish right from the start, as the Nets jumped to a 12 point lead at the break.  The Nets had a pretty rough 3rd quarter, as the Hornets cut the lead to 7, however a quick 6-0 extended the Nets lead to 13 and effectively broke the Hornets back.

• Like I was hoping they would, the Nets ran the ball tonight, getting 40 points in transition compared to the Hornets 11.
• Terrence Williams was obviously the player of the game tonight with 14 points and 14 assists in 30 minutes.
• Depth has been an issue for the Nets all year, but tonight all 11 of the Nets on the active roster got in the scoring column.  8 got into double figures with CDR leading the way with 17 points.
• After setting their season high in assists against the Spurs, the Nets broke it again, dishing out 34 assists on 46 baskets.
• With the Hornets making a run in the third quarter, Devin Harris had a huge chasedown block, swinging the momentum back in their favor.
• The Nets as a team had 10 blocks, with Kris Humphries getting 5 of those.

Sebastian Pruiti

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After beating the Spurs and playing the Suns real tough for most of the game (except, surprise, the third quarter), the Nets are up against the Hornets who have Chris Paul back.  However, the Hornets could be a little fatigued tonight.  This is their second game in a row, and third in 4 days.  We saw the effect of playing two games in a row (remember that game against Chicago?).  I would like to see the Nets try and push the tempo today, especially since the Nets haven't played since Wednesday (the Nets are pretty good with some days off).  Onto the lineups...

Devin Harris vs. Chris Paul

Advantage:  Chris Paul

Courtney Lee vs. Marcus Thornton

Advantage:  Push

Terrence Williams vs. Morris Peterson

Advantage:  Push

Yi vs. David West

Advantage:  David West

Brook Lopez vs. Emeka Okafor

Advantage:  Brook Lopez

Sebastian Pruiti

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Nets fans may have gone through agony this season, but so have a few other fanbases around the league. Take the New Orleans Hornets for example, a perpetual playoff team in the Chris Paul era that will not be playing in the postseason this year. Here to talk about the disappointment of the fanbase, and where the organization goes from here, is Ryan Schwan, from the New Orleans Hornets TrueHoop site, Hornets247.

NAS: The Hornets are headed to the lottery for the first time in a few seasons. What's the overall sense from fans about the direction of the franchise? Does the organization have the resources in place to get back into the playoffs next season?

The sense from fans is general disappointment.  The team was supposed to recover this year - and for a variety of reasons - did not.  In general, most of the woes have been attributed to the front office - but even that isn't clear cut, as the remarkable play of Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton somewhat mitigates earlier personnel mistakes.

As for the resources to get the team back into the playoffs - they are available.  The Team has more than $30 million worth of expiring contracts next year.  The only problem, of course, is those contracts reach their highest value halfway through next season, so it may be difficult to turn them into assets that get the team into the playoffs for next season.

NAS:  With Chris Paul missing nearly half the season this year for the first time in his career, are their concerns going forward about his durability and how much he can be relied on to carry the team?

Paul had knee surgery, and that is never good. However, I'm not a doctor, and the surgery Paul went through has so many degrees of severity it's really impossible to tell what impact it will have.  Amare Stoudemire had the same surgery(twice) - and his athleticism has been barely impacted at all.  Penny Hardaway also had the surgery (twice) and it essentially ended his career.  It's impossible to tell.

What I do know is that since Paul has returned, he has shown every one of the skills he displayed before the injury.  The only thing that has been missing since his return is the full over-the-top aggression he's known for.  Of course, the team is out of playoff contention and for the first time in his pro career he's figuring out how to play next to two backcourt players capable of scoring.  That's got to be a big adjustment.

Mark Ginocchio

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The storyline emanating from the beat writers is the future prospects, or lackthereof of GM/head coach Kiki Vandeweghe. With incoming owner Mikhail Prokhorov more or less confirming that Rod Thorn and Brett Yormark are going to stick around as President and CEO, and rumors circulating that Andrei Vatuin, who worked with Prokhorov with CSKA Moscow, may be joining the Nets' front office, the status of Kiki has been ominously quiet.

"I was brought in initially to help rebuild the team," Vandeweghe told Fred Kerber in the Post. "We had some success doing that in Denver and Dallas. I'm proud of the things we've got going.

The fact that the Nets are finally starting to play better basketball in the season's last 6 weeks makes Kiki look like less of a pollyanna for saying this. However, for the most part, his tenure as both GM and coach he been a disaster filled with drama and underachieving. But is it Kiki's fault? Dave D'Alessandro plays devil's advocate:

There are no good ways to play this for a guy who never considered himself anything but a team-builder, one who was resistant to taking over as head coach for the first time in his career back on Dec. 2.

But Vandeweghe can’t say he didn’t sign up for this. He can’t say that the franchise was too cheap to go out and find an experienced guy, which everyone knows was the case. He can’t even say that he hated what he has endured these last four months, because the opposite is true — he got a kick out of coaching.

From my own perspective, I always found it odd that if Prokhorov is judging strictly on performance here, that Kiki is a goner while Thorn stays. Thorn is as much responsible for this mess as Kiki is. While I do have a soft spot for Thorn primarily for what he did with the organization in the early 2000s, and I think some of his draft picks (Marcus Williams, Antoine Wright) are unfairly assailed due to 20-20 hindsight, perhaps if Thorn did a better job building the depth of this team below Kidd, Jefferson and Carter, this team wouldn't have been challenging for the worst of all time for a majority of this season.

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Mark Ginocchio

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Statistics can be a funny thing sometimes. Just when you expect them to say one thing, they paint a completely different picture and ruin everything.

I was all about doing a post today looking at the Nets pace factor and offensive efficiency since John Loyer interim coached against the Philadelphia 76ers a few weeks back, because I was convinced that the recent turnaround by the Nets was connected to them picking up the pace with Loyer’s influence. I found it interesting that Loyer was (unsuccessfully) imploring his team to run against the Sixers that night. With so many poor/underachieving shooters on the roster, a run and gun style was the only way to hide the offensive flaws of this team – or so I thought.

In reality, in the past seven games, where the Nets have gone 3-4, and played relatively well in every contest except their blowout loss to Chicago last weekend, the team has an offensive efficiency of 106.6; well above their season average of 97.6 (last in the league), and a mark that would actually rank the team 11^th in the entire NBA in the category if they maintained that mark for an entire season.  Seven games isn’t a huge sample size, but the differentiation is so significant, I can’t ignore it.

But here’s where things get a little crazy for me. While I was suspecting to see that the team’s pace had increased, it’s actually decreased in the past seven games. The Nets are averaging 89.4 possessions during that time period, down from their season average of 93.6. So if the Nets are becoming more offensively efficient with a slower pace, it must mean their halfcourt game is improving, right? Well, no. Not at all. For the season, the Nets are shooting 42.6 percent from the field, last in the NBA. In the past seven games, they are shooting 41 percent.

So what gives? Here’s where the stats start telling a story. In the past seven games, the Nets have done a phenomenal job protecting the ball and distributing it. During that stretch, they are averaging 22.4 assists per game, which would rank 5^th in the league based on current season totals, and they are averaging 10.1 turnovers, which would be the best mark in the league.

And that explains a lot for me. The Nets are becoming a more efficient team offensively because they’re turning the ball over less and making more passes that lead to baskets.  As I mentioned in my “Thoughts on the Game” yesterday, a lot of that has to do with the huge improvement of Terrence Williams, who may be better at distributing the ball than Devin Harris. With Williams running the point forward effectively, it takes the pressure off Devo as a ball handler and opens up the offense more.

So despite the fact that my original thesis was completely debunked, these are very positive developments for this organization as it heads into the final two weeks. It’s hard for me to say if the better play is reflective of an organizational shift in philosophy from Kiki or Loyer, or rather just an embodiment of some individual performances having a huge impact on the entire team. Either way, it bodes well for next season when the Nets are certain to have more talent on their roster that their current crop of “keepers” are learning how to play efficiently on the offensive end.

Mark Ginocchio

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Tim Legler on the Nets and Brooklyn: Here's the thing, though: Very grudgingly, Brooklyn is starting to peek at what Brook Lopez is doing and to wonder whether John Wall can become the Nets' Patrick Ewing. The team's new owner, Mikhail Prokhorov -- maybe he'll turn out to be the one clean Russian oligarch! (Ha.) Yes, the politics and finances of the stadium remain an outrageous scam, but if the turmoil is now inevitable, Brooklyn didn't want the pain compounded by watching the Nets compile the NBA's all-time-worst record. The mythology surrounding the "lovable loser" Brooklyn Dodgers was probably always just that, a myth -- finishing 42 games out of first place was surely no fun to sit through.

Meanwhile, the new arena is slated to have a "meditation room." I'm assuming it's for the players, but what about for the fans after this season?

Dave D. treats us all with another mailbag, loaded with goodies about Prokhorov, free agents, coaching and more.

Mitch Lawrence of the Daily News is reporting something we've sorta, kindof known for some time: Brett Yormark and Rod Thorn will be back next season under Prokhorov.

Lawrence talks to Steve Nash about the Nets' future: "They should be excited about the new owner," said Phoenix's Steve Nash, after the Suns' win in the Meadowlands on Wednesday night. "He's got incredibly deep pockets, and, in many ways, a positive attitude as far as spending. I think he will build a winner. If you have money and you're a good businessman and you're willing to spend, you can be successful. It seems that teams will struggle when they're not willing to spend."

Fred Kerber, who earlier this season had "words" with Terrence Williams, only has flattery for TWill now: And that is just part of Williams' game that is blossoming, causing many to take notice. He is more than just a bundle of athleticism. He'll jump through the rafters for a rebound, outrace the pack for a scintillating dunk on the break. But he'll also put the ball right where it's supposed to be.

Rick Bozich of the Lousville Courier-Journal opines that coach Rick Pitino will pass on coming to the Nets and stay in Lousiville.

The Charleston Post-Courier calls the Nets "winners" in an editorial: Winners never quit, and quitters never win. That's one of the many worthy maxims from the sports realm. And the New Jersey Nets, despite their dismal record this season, aren't quitters. Nor, thanks to winning three of four games after losing 63 of their first 72, are they still at risk of recording the worst won-lost record in NBA history.

Mark Ginocchio

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