Knicks vs. Nets: Battle of the Boroughs - II

From the desks of:

DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP  &  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

Mikhail Prokhorov slams on the brakes;

Major roadwork ahead.

WEDNESDAY

New York Knicks

vs.

Brooklyn Nets

FROM

Barclays Center

FLATBUSH AVENUE

BROOKLYN NETS: Borough's notorious apathy settling in; seats are emptying, and Mikhail Prokhorov knows it.

Carmelo Anthony rolled his ankle during Tuesday night's Knicks victory over the Celtics.  His availability for Wednesday's contest in Brooklyn will likely be a game time decision.

Shame too ... fans in Brooklyn needed something for their money.

Count it!  ...and the foul!

Truth of the matter is that necessity is the mother of all invention.

Sweeping changes are indeed underway at Barclays Center.  Brooklyn's dismal 10-28 record this season alone justified owner Mikhail Prokhorov's decision to rethink his strategy for success.

At the Nets recent presser, Mr. Prokhorov reasoned that by initiating changes now, he avoids having to rush through the replacement process ahead, and that this time, a well conceived plan focused on mid-level to long term success is now in order.

Behind the scenes, Mr. Prokhorov revealed the NBA stated their desire to have the Nets and Barclays Center consolidated under single ownership (versus the off-setting holdings shared between Mikhail Prokhorov and Bruce Ratner).

That was the out Bruce Ratner wanted all along.  Hence, Mr. Prokhorov recently became full (100%) owner of both the Nets and Barclays Center.  Prokhorov said the deal was good for him, while Forest City is gladly out of the loop.

As sole owner, Mikhail Prokhorov reminded all he is indeed a businessman, and that if interested parties feel inclined to make a bid (for the team and arena) he will indeed listen, but then quickly assured the room he has no inclinations to sell.  In simple but very effective terms, he expressed an even greater determination to get this process done right, and resolved to delivering Brooklyn a championship caliber club.

To that end, he said, "I'm all in."

Now that all his rubles are in one basket, he better be.

As expected the Nets ranked dead last in attendance during their last season in New Jersey.

During their inaugural season in Brooklyn, the Nets ranked 16th in the league.  In year two, they slipped to 17th in the league.  Last season, Nets attendance dropped to 20th in the league.  In each of their first three seasons in Brooklyn, however, Nets average attendance remained above 17,000 per game.

This season, the Brooklyn Nets are one of four NBA teams averaging less that 15,000 fans per game, ranking 28th in a circuit of 30 teams.

That's bad business, and no one knows it better than Mikhail Prokhorov.

His team enters Wednesday's game losers of 5 straight.  On Monday, they dropped their 10th straight game at Barclays Center, this time against the San Antonio Spurs.


NEW YORK KNICKS: Melo's team oriented play endures an untimely twist of fate.

The Knicks defeated the Boston Celtics 120-114 at the Garden Tuesday night.  They are winners of 5 of their last 6 games, and enter Barclays Center this evening at par with a 20-20 record.

Kristaps Porzingis led all Knicks Tuesday with 26 points, as Carmelo Anthony set out the 2nd half.   Arron Afflalo picked up the slack scoring 20 of his 24 points in the 2nd half.

During much of the early going, Kristaps Porzingis' polished play, and Arron Afflalo's impact were frequently leading stories.  That's why Carmelo Anthony couldn't have rolled his ankle at a worse time.  His fine team play this season was finally getting the recognition it rightly deserves.

If you're talking about the 2015-2016 season, you're definitely talking about a different, more cooperative Melo, even wiser Melo.

The results on the floor speak for themselves.

Wednesday Final

KNICKS  104

NETS       110

A Victory Grows in Brooklyn:

Despite 31 points from Derrick Williams, the visiting Knicks failed to break through the .500 mark.   The Knicks were playing on the back end of consecutive nights, and without Carmelo Anthony whom twisted his ankle Tuesday against the Celtics.

Kristaps Porzingas struggled, shooting only  5 of 17 from the field, but still posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards.

By the 4th quarter, the Knicks were clearly spent, as the Nets coasted to 36 points in the final quarter, en route to a 110-104 victory.

Brook Lopez led the Nets with 20 points, while Thaddeus Young went double-double, with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

The victory snapped the Nets 5-game losing streak, and more importantly, their 10-game losing streak at Barclays Center.

Brooklyn Nets: Billy King and the Mess of Flatbush

From the desk of:  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

The Five Year Mission Failed.

BROOKLYN NETS: Instead of celebrating their first NBA championship, the Hoops of Flatbush are facing a rebuild without any nails, hammers, or wood, and the wrong guy in charge.

Yeah.., ouch!  Keep reading.

In the last three seasons, the Nets went from a 49-33 record during their inaugural season in Brooklyn, to a 44-38 record in 2013-14, to posting a sub par 38-44 record this past season in what proved to be a very weak Atlantic Division, and Eastern Conference.

That's called regression.

Let's jump right in, then, with the Atlanta Hawks recently opting to swap #1 picks with the Nets, as is their right dating back to the Joe Johnson trade.  The Hawks #29 overall pick in the upcoming 2015 draft now belongs to the Nets, while Brooklyn's #15 overall pick is headed to Atlanta.

Since we're on the subject of draft picks, the Boston Celtics will benefit from Billy King's benevolence till the year 2018.  As part of the trade to acquire Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, the Celtics received the Nets 2014 #1 pick, and are still due the Nets 2016 #1 pick, the option to swap 2017 #1 picks, and the Nets 2018 #1 pick.

Moreover, heading into Summer the Nets suffer from incredible salary cap inflexibility, not to mention being indebted to the NBA's luxury tax.  On that note, Alan Anderson, Thaddeus Young, and Brook Lopez, can all opt of of their deals and become a free agents.  If Billy King has intentions to retain Lopez and Young, it will potentially cost him yet more money.  That would leave very little to address the team's greater deficiencies.

Those are just some of the enduring ramifications stemming from Billy King's tenure, and five year (or three year..) failed mission to win his boss an NBA championship.

The NBA's most expensive team is now in need of a complete overhaul, although one is not likely because Billy King has created an unmanageable, and in all likelihood, an immovable mess.

When I last chimed in, I was about to lambaste Jarrett Jack for an utterly pathetic defensive effort in Game 5.  But, after getting blown out by the Hawks in Game 6, that became a moot point.

Today, the Nets situation is less promising than its ever been on Flatbush.  Meanwhile, Billy King still has one more year left in his contract.

Does this mean the Nets will be challenged to win 35 games next season?  My answer to that is - Once is an event, Twice is a coincidence, and Three times is a trend.  Read into that what you will.

All I know is that Joe Johnson said this -

"We never had that (chemistry) going into seasons.  That's probably the thing that hurt us most because you can have coaching changes but as players, you have to have cohesiveness to be successful in this league."

That's on Billy King, for his revolving door of both coaches and players.

This much I do know.  Billy King's 4th head coach in three years is astonishingly blunt, brutally honest, but speaks the truth.   Lionel Hollins demoted, and made bench players of Deron Williams and Brook Lopez.  I have yet to decide whether all of it helped, or hindered the team.

Among his more biting critiques:

On Deron Williams -

"He's not a franchise player anymore."

On Brook Lopez -

"He has some limitations.  ...there's a lot more that goes into a franchise player than just skill, so I don't even want to go there." 

On the team -

"I thought we had a higher basketball IQ as a group than we did.  I thought we had more toughness and all of that.   

...looking from the outside, that's why I always say until you come in and coach a team you don't know for sure.  I thought the skill level was better..."

Ouch!

He basically dumped all over Billy King's creation, and in fact, dumped on them all season long.

I don't know how King is going to improve this team.  He's got the entire organization in a bind.  We do not know if Mikhail Prokhorov has true intentions to sell, and if he's just trying to maintain a positive image.  That might explain why Mikhail Prokhorov hasn't fired him yet.

King's failure on the court should only be part of the owner's reasoning.  Marketing wise, I'd be focusing on Billy King's failure to seize the city as the Knicks were falling flat on their faces.  Over the last two seasons, Brooklyn was the only NYC representative in the playoffs, and as such, failed to encroach on the Knicks' popularity, never mind seizing the moment (or a Borough).

This is still a tenuous time for professional basketball in Brooklyn.  So far, fans kept their side of the deal.  They packed Barclays Center, and in all honesty, sometimes I had my doubts.  This can be a very apathetic, and on the more positive side, an ambivalent town.  The organization should now act before they lose something more than just games and money.  They need to worry about sustaining interest.  Therefore, a proactive approach is in order.

Billy King has been the architect of an incredible mess on Flatbush Avenue.  Someone else should be brought in to dismantle it, then rebuild it, quickly.



Mike