Rating the Nets, 2009 Edition

The first couple of months of the season made me into a believer, gave me hope for the future, and to be honest: it’s still there. I’m still moderately happy about the future of my team, but something’s gotta give. Rod Thorn was right when he said that the team needs a “moose”. A rugged power forward that brings defense and rebounding to the team. Someone like Udonis Haslem or Luis Scola. Not that they are available, but they need players like them. Anyway, the final post about the Nets this season:

Lawrence Frank: C

If you’re players are not giving the effort, do not have that sense of urgency, can you blame it all on Lawrence Frank? Is it that the players have tuned him out, can’t he motivate them anymore, or is this an easy cop-out and should we blame the guys on the court? The Nets decide whenever they choose to come out and play, and if this means Frank gets axed, that’s the business side of it. Maybe it is his fault, I don’t know. I do know that he’s under contract for another year for 4,5 million, so if there would be a new coach hopefully named Eddie Jordan, this could cripple the franchise even more. Frank did well in developing Brook Lopez and Devin Harris, and you could make an argument that the material he had to work with can’t bring you to the playoffs. And it’s true, but the lackluster play against teams like the Timberwolves or Bucks when your season in on the line, is something to worry about. In the past couple of days Bruce Ratner openly backed Frank, and as far as we can tell, Rod Thorn does too. But if the defense doesn’t improve by the end of this year, it wouldn’t surprise me if Frank doesn’t make 2010 as a Nets head coach.

Maurice Ager / Eduardo Najera:

Can’t rate these guys, they hardly played this season.

Ryan Anderson: B-

It’s hard to rate a guy who’s been in and out of the line-up so much this season. He’s a hard worker with a long career ahead of him, and his numbers will be more consistent if his playing time would be more consistent. But when Yi went out injured, the rookie came in from DNP’s to being the starting power forward, and maybe should’ve gotten the nod way earlier.

Josh Boone: D

Last season Boone averaged about 8 and 7 as the designated starting center of the Nets, and through the first five games of this season, his numbers were the same. But he hurt his ankle in the sixth game, prompting rookie Brook Lopez to start for the Nets. Boone came back, but his confidence was shattered. Boone can be a serviceable player for the Nets, but has to get stronger mentally.

Vince Carter: B+

Almost 21 ppg, 5 boards and 4,5 assists per game. Great numbers, but he’ll never be a great defender, and those fade-away 3’s are still so frustrating to watch, I’m starting to believe that VC’s the reason that I’m balding while I’m not even 30 yet. But he only has missed two games this season, is well-respected around the team, and does everything that has been asked from him To (most recently) switch over to the small forward spot, or being the primary ball-handler when Devin Harris was out, Carter will do it all without ever complaining about it. He’s a pro’s pro, and you couldn’t ask for a better leader on a team filled with young guys.

Keyon Dooling: A+

What more can you ask from him? A ball hawking point guard, shooting the 3 at a high percentage while playing a great deal of minutes behind Harris, or even with Harris. It doesn’t matter: put Dooling in and something will happen. Great off-season acquisition.
Chris Douglas-Roberts: B. The emergence, if we may call it that, of CDR came recently when Harris was injured for a couple of games. The guy is a scorer, and is no way a finished product. But like Anderson, I wish he got some minutes way earlier into the season. He showed that he can play, so it’s a safe bet we will see plenty more of him next year.

Devin Harris: B+

I’m afraid what’s happening to Devin Harris is what we could call the “RJ-effect”. Being a primary offensive weapon on this team made defense merely optional for the face of the franchise. When he came in from Dallas last season he was known as a feisty on-ball defender, but like the rest of the Nets, the effort isn’t always there. He was a great player the first half of the season, but slightly more inconsistent in the second half. He started settling for jumpshots instead of using his brilliant speed to get to the rim, which gives him easily 20 to 25 points on a nightly basis, half of them coming from the free throw line. Tony Parker has been using that speed for years to get easy buckets, and is having a career year by doing so. Devin Harris should watch some tape of Spurs guard this summer and learn from it. If he does, who knows how good Harris can be.

Trenton Hassell: C

He doesn’t give you much offense, but when he does play, he’s one of the few Nets who always will play some D. Can shoot the 3 too if necessary.

Jarvis Hayes: B+

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Hayes when the Nets signed him, but he proved to be a great addition to this team playing extended minutes. And when his jumper is falling, he proves to be a valuable weapon being out there with the starters more often than not. We shouldn’t forget that he’s been playing with basically one hand since he torn the ligaments in his left thumb in mid-February. The guy can’t even lace his own shoes at the moment, yet he kept on playing, even when the Nets were mathematically out of the playoff contention.

Yi Jianlian: F

When something is not there, you can keep on looking but you will never find it. The problem is that Yi plays twelve months a year because of his demanding home country, which might be one of the reasons why his young NBA career has been nothing less of a disappointment. He had exactly one stretch this season where he had three good games in a row, showing flashes of brilliance of what the promising player he can be. He got injured, and when he returned he had just three games where he scored in double figures. Maybe it’s not entirely his fault. Again, he’s young, he’s not very strong physically as well as mentally, but for a guy heralded as a good shooting big man, 39% is not enough. Lawrence Frank should’ve brought Yi off the bench throughout the season, let him play about 20 minutes a game, and work from there. Yi wasn’t starter material from the beginning, he one day might be, but not now. It took the Nets brass more than 70 games to find that out. Well done.

Brook Lopez: A

Sure, like any first-year player he makes those typical rookie mistakes. Yes, he doesn’t always finish strong. When the “Dwyane Wade Highlights DVD ’08-‘09” comes out, they will include the game in early January where Flash blocked Lopez twice, both dunk attempts, both were deciding for the outcome of the game. But next to the point guard position, the center position is the hardest one to master for a rookie, and we can say without any doubts that Brook Lopez has embraced the task at hand, and is it’s not more than fair that his name is being mentioned among the Rookie of the Year candidates. True old-school NBA centers are dying breed in the L, but the Nets have one for years to come. If the kid keeps playing like this, keeps improving, he’s an All-Star within two years.

Bobby Simmons: D

The Nets hoped to have the Bobby Simmons of ’04-’05, yet they got the regular Bobby Simmons: a small forward who rebound a little, defend a little, knows how to shoot the ball with great range, but in not a starter by any means. If you would combine his and Yi’s numbers, which would make 17 and 9, I would be impressed. But no, that kind of production is coming from two starting forwards (for a great part of the season), which unlikely brings fear into any opponent.

Sean Williams: F

I wish I could give this guy a better grade. When he came back from the D-League, he seemed to be a changed man. He did what he knows how to do best: block shots and rebound. A player who seems to be so calm during interviews, loses his cool which ended up in throwing a computer monitor in a cell phone store. You just don’t know what’s going on in his head. Being a distraction to a team during a time when they need you the most just can’t happen. A likeable guy, who, to me, deserves one more chance. Hopefully with the Nets.