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djsunyc
Posts: 44927
Alba Posts: 42
Joined: 1/16/2004
Member: #536
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i mean seriously, how dare they do this to rj? he's an olympian. a perennial all-star. played in TWO NBA FINALS. and has a SWANK tattoo of RJ on his shoulder. this ain't right. i want to buy a "don't give up, don't ever give up" card for rj and send it to him with all our signatures. are you all with me?
RJ WARNS MATES STOP BEING WIMPS
By FRED KERBER
December 7, 2005 -- CHARLOTTE — The Nets have been kicked around thanks to a defense as rugged as down pillows. They frequently resemble a group of guys getting together for a weekend beer-league game — after the beer, of course.
One of their main stars, Richard Jefferson, pronounced the team a group of mental and physical wimps.
Hey, not to worry. They've got it figured out. It will get better. Once familiarity sets in, they'll be consistent and good and live happily ever after.
They hope.
"It's not like I said anything that isn't obvious. We're not very mentally or physically tough right now. I stick by my statement, and that's including myself," said Jefferson, who fired warning flares Saturday, insisting the Nets need a "screw-you" attitude after inexcusably losing to Toronto. "I said 'we' as a team."
That's one message coach Lawrence Frank hammered home yesterday after the Nets prepped for tonight's game here against the Bobcats: the "We over Me" thing.
"As long as we give maximum effort and it's a 'We not Me' philosophy, then things will shake out the way they're supposed to," Frank said.
There is a big difference in talking and doing. Management wants the latter.
"It was disappointing," team president Rod Thorn said of the Toronto debacle. "Now we've lost two straight at home. We need to buckle down and make sure something like this doesn't happen again."
Frank insisted he saw good things in practice, but the NBA tends not to reward teams for nice practices. So Frank hopes the good stuff arrives in games and does so consistently.
At 7-9, the Nets are a major early-season disappointment. The team is built around the star power of Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Jefferson, but the Nets have been unable to guard a closed door and the running game is a mirage. Still, Carter says the feeling is positive.
"Everybody assumes because we're losing, we're angry, frustrated and pointing fingers," said Carter, who insisted Jefferson's rips into the team Saturday were well-received: They were true and directed at the group, not individuals.
"I've been on teams where [finger-pointing] happened from the top on down," Carter added, "and you just play worse. Yeah, we're not playing our best basketball, but yet everybody is still in good spirits."
But will that last if problems aren't resolved. What has been the biggest problem?
"Being inconsistent. We do a great job against a team like Detroit and then you come back and lay an egg against Toronto," Jefferson said. "We're just inconsistent. Do we have the ability? Yes. When will we start to give it for 10-15 games in a row? Hopefully very soon."
No arguments from Kidd, who claimed the Nets have a severe identity crisis and can't decide whether to try to be a defensive team that gets stops or an offensive team that outscores opponents. Stuck in the middle, they're neither.
"Everybody is always searching for answers about how to be consistent. Good teams find it early and find that throughout the season," Kidd said. "There will be teams who can't find it and will search all season, and there will be teams that will be hit or miss. We want to fall into the category of a team that will find it, keep it and build on it."
Said Jefferson, "Teams can change . . . there's no doubt in my mind we're going to. We have a long ways to go. I'm not worried. I have a lot of faith in the coaching staff, the organization and my teammates. We're going to be all right. It's just right now, it's not exactly the happiest time around here."
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12/7/2005 5:24 PM
