Thursday, January 01, 2015

Brooklyn Nets: January Has Usually Meant Better Days Ahead

From the desk of:  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH



Nets Hoping For A Happy New Year Under Coach Hollins


BROOKLYN NETS: After Yet Another Slow Start, Flatbush Banking On A Three Year New Year's Trend.

The 2012 calender year ended with Billy King firing head coach Avery Johnson because the team was floundering at .500 under him with a 15-15 record.  The Nets then won their first game under P.J. Carlessimo and closed out December with a 16-15 record.

From January on, the Nets posted a 33-18 record to finish the 2012-13 season with a 49-33 mark.

Last season, the Nets finished the calender year with a dismal 10-21 record.  It was right around Christmas when Jason Kidd effectively fired Lawrence Frank by banishing him from the bench and practices, and relegating him to providing scouting reports.

From January on, the Nets posted a 34-17 record to finish the 2013-14 season with a 44-38 final mark.

This season, the Nets will enter their first game of January with a 15-16 record.  No one got fired this past December, but there is clearly a new alpha-male in town who takes no prisoners.

The 4th Nets head coach in the last three years has basically called the owner's money based star system to task; he demeans Billy King's roster almost nightly; and has benched the team's highest paid players in Brook Lopez and Deron Williams.

Brook Lopez enjoyed a night of redemption last Tuesday when he poured in 29-points against the Bulls in Chicago, and the Nets have won 5 of their last 6 games with Deron Williams coming off the bench.  But, Coach Hollins said that's where they'll stay for now.  The team is now riding the wave created by Jarrett Jack and Mason Plumlee instead.

After a strong start that saw Deron Williams averaging 19 points and 7 assists per game, his play has cooled off considerably, to where he now averages just 14.4 points and 6.6 assists per game.  He is also shooting a career low 39% from the field.

His name also continues to get included in trade rumors.


Mike

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