Can money buy happiness? If you’re the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks, the answer is no. The Nets have the league’s highest payroll, while the Knicks rank second. The combined exorbitant payroll has produced a deflating 18-38 record and proven any championship aspirations were merely a pipe dream. Ironically, speaking of the pipe, J.R. Smith was the first Knick to panic back when the team was only 3-8 at the time. Now, it appears Smith’s anxiety was warranted. Thanks to injuries, a lack
Brain-twister for you today, folks. Go back to the start of the 2005-06 regular season, and try to name a superstar player who has represented the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. Your answer cannot include LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo or Ray Allen. It’s OK. Keep thinking … [Read more…]
What are the Brooklyn Nets right now, other than a pathetic underachieving ballclub? Brook Lopez is not coming back this season after breaking his foot, and the Nets dropped to 2-8 without him after Monday’s 103-86 loss to Indiana. Brooklyn is 9-18, a .333 winning percentage. “It’s certainly a big setback, he’s a great player,” Indiana coach Frank Vogel said. “One of the best centers in the league, so it’s obviously very difficult to replace what he gives on both ends.” What’s worse
It’s been an unexpected season of sorts for the Brooklyn Nets. That is to say, they have been one of the worst teams in the entire league rather than one of the best as many expected them to be prior to the season. They were supposed to challenge the Miami Heat and match up very well against the Indiana Pacers. Both notions are seemingly laughable at this point. [Read more…]
In his stated effort to upstage Knicks owner James Dolan, Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has become him. Like Dolan, Prokhorov desperately wants an NBA championship. Like Dolan, he has pursued that desperation with financial abandon, giving his GM an open checkbook. Like Dolan, he has overspent on overvalued big names. Like Dolan, he has mortgaged his team’s future by giving away multiple draft picks. And like Dolan, he appears headed down the abyss. In two months, the Nets have gone from contenders with
Kevin Garnett accurately described what everyone thought after he and Paul Pierce battled his former coach, Doc Rivers. “It was a bit weird,” said Garnett. You know what’s even more weird? Watching Pierce come off the bench in back-to-back games for the first time in his career and Garnett on a minutes restriction comparable to a role player. [Read more…]
BROOKLYN – Mikhail Prokhorov once vowed to take over New York as owner of the Brooklyn Nets and turn Knicks fans into Nets fans. But on Thursday night in front of a national TV audience, it was the Knicks who took over Brooklyn and Barclays Center. It was so bad, Brooklyn’s introductory video malfunctioned before loud boos for Kevin Garnett and Jason Kidd filled the arena during the starting lineup introductions. Chants of “Let’s go Knicks” began as New York pulled away
Jason Kidd and Brian Shaw were the two finalists for the Brooklyn Nets coaching position during the summer. While Kidd won out and was hired by the Nets, Shaw ended up getting his first head job in Denver with the Nuggets. So far, it sure seems like Shaw got the better end of that deal. While Brooklyn languishes near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, Denver won its seventh straight game Tuesday, efficiently eviscerating the Nets, 111-87, on a night where turmoil