That worries me.

Last year they had zero depth and no sg.

This year they have RJ, Vinsanity, Kidd and McInness playing the 1-2-3.

Jeez, we better get a move on trading for some serious talent if we want to keep up with the rest of our division!

We need a real SF and a serious PF.

I think its time to throw the farm at Minn, and see what happens. Im talking picks, talent, cap space, whatever it takes.

[Edited by - firefly on 07/29/2005 06:59:45]

I would say they are as good as the top teams in the East... very close at least. Their SL will be Kidd/Carter/RJ/Rahim/Krstic with a bench of McInnis/Wright/Collins/Uncle Cliff.

Sorry... thats a deep team that plays D and has real firepower. They have some size and punch off the bench.

Right now I have them winning the East by 8 games.

nets are BY FAR the best team in the atlantic.

i still think indy is the team to beat now (with artest returning) with detroit and nj right behind them.

but the nets are good...real good.

Yeah Thorn did an awesome job of rebuilding on they fly last year, sacrificing one year of contention to come back as a team with a real shot for the titel this year.

He realized that team with just Kidd, Jerffersona nd Kmart with lack of deapth wasnt going to make it, proven by failing int he finals twice.

So he went out and gave up a year to upgrade the talent level, get a lot of deapth, and turn the team into a true contender.

He is def doing an awesome GM job. He should be gettin GM of year next year for the job he had done.

[Edited by - simrud on 07/29/2005 09:04:25]

give me a break. They are all talented players in an established system with a good coach. Your arguement is what as VC or Rahim won before? About as much or more than Steph I would say. They have a core of playoff proven veterans and are better than us at pretty much every position, not that it matter because Kidd's proven mutliple times he can elevate the play of guys around him.

If you think the Nets aren't better than the top teams in the east right now you really aren't looking at their squad, who knows if they click but right now i have them as the best team in the east.

They have depth at the pg position, kidd is the best the league has to offer and McInnis coming off the bench to give kid a rest....

RJ was not himself in the first few games of the playoffs and is only getting better, pencil in Wright for some quality minutes and they have depth at the backup....

They also have vince who is one of the best players in the east

And a lot of front court depth, Reef, Collins, Robinson, Krstic....

I think they are the best team right now on paper.....Miami has to much invested in Shaq and if he isn't healthy Wade can't do it all by himself

Rod Thorn is one of the top three GMS in the NBA hands down, not signing Martin was the best thing they ever did

I'm sorry but I don't believe you get to be the best team in the East by merely being assembled on paper--they have too many question marks health wise and personality wise in my book, but we will see!

Posted by fishmike:

I have them slightly behind Indy/Det/Mia because I think their frontcourt isnt as strong as those 3 teams. Still they play D and have enough to beat any of those teams in a playoff series, and they are heads above anyone else in the atlantic right now.

I agree Fish, but I have the Nets before Miami and on a even basis with Detroit. I think Miami will worst off this season due to many factors. On paper the Nets look like they will contend for the Eastern Conference but I don't believe in their coach so it is a wait game.

The Nets are already EVEN with Detroit without playing a game?

I think its unfiar to say that the Nets don't rebound and play D.

Theri coaches's MO is defense and rebounding. Thats how they competed last year, when they had the entire team injured. They played a bunch of gritty games in the 70's and 80's that they lost simply becasue they could not score.

Now they have all the scoring one can ask for and a great defensive system in place with a coach who has so far shown to be outstanding.

No Sim ask any Net fan and they'll tell you their biggest problem was not being able to rebound Jason Collins and Cliff Robinson especially. Trust me I visited that Nets board every night and every time they lost it was the same thing. Can Jason Stiffins grab a rebound! Jason Stiffins must go! and also Kidd's inability to keep opposing PGs in front of him was a hot topic. There were lots of Kidd isn't the defender he used to be before this surgury.

So what did they accomplish this offseason. They added Shareef who's a decent rebounder but is a below average to average defender at best and they added Jeff Mcginnis who doesn't know how to play defense. Obviously they have improved but if they are relying on the 40yr old Cliff Robinson to give them defense they are not up there with Indy, Detroit and Miami in my book! Kidd and Carter are the key to that team if one of them gets shelved for a long period of time they are in trouble and back in the middle of the pack. I don't see NJ as a realistic contender not with those 3 powerhouses ahead of them. On paper they look great offensively but offense alone doesn't win championships.