Jefferson proving he can act alone

By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Tuesday, April 6
Updated: April 6
9:14 AM ET

While Jason Kidd was out with a bruised left knee, Richard Jefferson posted a career high in assists on Sunday and a season high in rebounds the Wednesday before that while averaging 24.4 points per game on 52.7 percent shooting as the Nets clinched the Atlantic Division title.

The Nets can win their last six games of the season by 50 points each night and they would still be the second seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Or they can lose every one of those games by 50 and still be the second seed.

But if you listen close enough, you can hear whispers that Kidd will play tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks exactly one day after Jefferson was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week.

"We haven't even talked about it," Kidd said in the New York Times after head coach Lawrence Frank told reporters that he thought the point guard could play tonight. "We're just trying to get better, and everything went well today. There hasn't been any pain or swelling. We'll take it one day at a time and hopefully, none of that will occur. You know everything has kind of worked out to what we're hoping and planning on. We're putting more time out on the court each day as we go here, as we get closer to the playoffs."

There are even rumors that Kenyon Martin, who has played only 12 minutes since March 18 and no minutes since March 31, will return despite the tendinitis in his knee still acting up after undergoing deep massage with Kidd recently.

"We'll see," Martin said in the New York Post. "I don't want to force anything, but it's frustrating. I can't tell yet if it worked, but I'm willing to try anything to get myself back."

But while the Nets could certainly use Kidd and Martin back with the regular season winding down and the playoffs about to start, another question is being raised.


Richard Jefferson
Small Forward
New Jersey Nets
Profile


2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
76 18.6 5.8 3.9 .497 .769

Does Jefferson need them back?

Or, further to the point, does Kidd need Jefferson now more than Jefferson needs Kidd?

"Richard has shown an unbelievable ability to step it up and raise his game to another level," Frank in Sunday's Newark Star Ledger. "And a pertinent point is, he's done it without Jason Kidd. Everyone thought of Richard as a high-level player already. But he has gained even more respect from his teammates because of this."

But before going any further, perhaps we should point out a few numbers.

In January, while all three players were in action and their 14-game win streak began, Jefferson shot 49 percent from the field. In February, while all three players were still active and the 14-game win streak had reached its peak, Jefferson shot 49 percent from the field. And in March, when both Kidd and Martin went down and the Nets struggled to a 7-9 record, Jefferson shot 49 percent from the field.

In wins this season, he has taken 13.7 shots per game.

In losses this season, he has taken 13.7 shots per game.

After three years in the NBA, we know who this No. 13 pick, packaged and traded on draft day, is.

And we like him.

Sure, he gets more minutes and more shots as the lone star in the lineup, but that doesn't make him better or worse in terms of quality but rather just quantity.

And even though Jefferson has become the leading scorer on the team this year, surpassing both Kidd and Martin, he has yet to catch up to either's star quality. He is still the third most recognizable player on the team. And let's not forget that amidst all of this personal praise for Jefferson, the team is still 4-5 with Jefferson going at it alone.

But that's not going to be the problem.

Just ask his agent.

Jefferson is making $1.6 million this year. He makes the same amount with Kidd in the lineup as when Kidd is out of the lineup. Next year, he will make $2.3 million. Then he becomes a restricted free agent as an all-star and team's leading scorer. Then he becomes an unrestricted free agent as an all-star and a member of the U.S. National Team and the team's leading scorer.

Here's a few more numbers.

Kidd is making $13.1 million this year. He is making $103 million over his contract. He is also an all-star and member of the U.S. National Team and team leader in assists.

Martin is making $5 million this year and will become a restricted free agent next year and possibly an unrestricted free agent the year after that. He, too, is an all-star.

Now, here's the biggest number of all on the afternoon before Kidd and Martin and Jefferson are rumored to be taking the floor together.

This season, they are 45-31, the ninth-best team in the standings so far.

Which makes us wonder if the Nets, a team in financial flux in terms of ownership and location, are really better off with these three high-salaried players and, in the same breath, if these three players, collectively or individually, are really better off with the New Jersey Nets?

Because Jefferson shot 50 percent last year, is shooting 50 percent this year and will most likely be shooting 50 percent next year.

"If it's fair, we'll sign the deal," agent Todd Eley said. "Now what's fair? I don't know what that is right now. If it's less than the max but it's fair based on years and dollars? Then we'll sign that. That's something that will happen once the season is over, once everyone can step away from the wins and losses and step back and ask what makes a reasonable deal for both sides."

* Jefferson hitting nets, raising ante
Brad Parks / Newark Star-Ledger
* Nets Consider Returning Kidd to Lineup Tonight
Steve Popper / New York Times
* Kidd, K-Mart Might Come Back Tonight
Dan Martin / New York Post

Peep Show

NBA Insider
Tuesday, April 6
Updated: April 6
9:28 AM ET


Snow
Philadelphia 76ers: Heads are about to roll in the City of Brotherly Love. "There are a lot of things right now that are very frustrating,'' President Billy King said in the Philadelphia Daily News. "There have been some things that are very distracting and very disappointing, and things that will be dealt with. I don't want to single out one guy. There have been a lot of things this year; it's not just one player that's been disappointing. A lot of people's behavior hasn't been up to par ...As I've said before, it's going to be more important about the name on the front of the jersey than the name on the back. It won't happen again. Not on my watch ...I know exactly what direction we need to go.'' And at last one player agrees. "I don't think anybody would [want another season like this],'' said point guard Eric Snow. "I don't think the organization should want to, I don't think the players should want to, I don't think the city should want to ...I just know the team needs to get better. You can take injuries out of the equation, we probably would have still made the playoffs, but the object is to compete for a championship.''

Houston Rockets: The Rockets are on the verge of something monumental. "If we play right and we coach right, the results will start getting better," head coach Jeff Van Gundy said in the Houston Chronicle. "If not, we'll be part of a historic collapse, and once you face up to that fact ... No one wants to use that word, but it's on everybody's mind." At one time not too long ago, they were the hottest team in the West. Now, they could be the odd man out in the West. "In the middle of the season we started playing well and put ourselves in the position to be in the playoff race, and not to get there would be a travesty," Rockets forward Jim Jackson said. "The good thing about it is you have another chance to kind of right yourself in these next six games."

Milwaukee Bucks: The injured T.J. Ford is out of sight and, therefore, out of mind to head coach Terry Porter for the playoffs. "That's the way we have to do it," said Porter in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "You can't think that you're going to have him. I'm just trying to go with the (other) guys -- Damon and Brevin. That's all you can do until you can hear otherwise. You just have to deal with the guys you have in uniform." Ford, suffering from an injured neck, was originally expected back in two to three weeks. It's now been six with no immediate signs of his return. "Every guy is different, but he hasn't been able to do any cardio whatsoever," said Porter. "So it would be at least a week to get some cardio and get some timing back. And you just can't get that in practice; you have to get that in games too."

Seattle SuperSonics: This is a test. This is only a test. "I'm looking for him to run the team as a point guard, not as a scorer," head coach Nate McMillan said in the Post-Intelligencer of starting Flip Murray at point guard. "Just in terms of delivering the ball, defense on the ball, getting into the offense. Everything." It's not meant as a reward for Murray nor a punishment for Brent Barry. "He's going against the best," McMillan said. "He's going against some really good guards, and it's an opportunity just to look at him at that position."


Chandler
Chicago Bulls: Stop me if you've heard this before. "It has been the toughest season of my career because I wanted to play so well and I had such high expectations," Tyson Chandler said in the Chicago Tribune. "My injury set me back. I never really recovered from it. My body wasn't strong enough to accept the pounding. My goal is to get my body strong enough to withstand 82 games. I know I can play the way I [did] at the start of the season. It's just a matter of preparing my body for it." But saying it and doing it are two different things as you can tell by the next thing out of Chandler's mouth. "There's only a week left in the season," he said. "We'll see how things go. I'm still not feeling 100 percent. The last thing I want to do is come back and hurt myself going into the summer."

Phoenix Suns: And then there were eight Suns after Shawn Marion went down with respiratory problems. "He was hurting Friday and Saturday," head coach Mike D'Antoni said in the Arizona Republic "Hopefully, he'll be OK. I don't know if it's allergies or bronchitis. But he was coughing up a lung a couple of times." Marion is still expected to be available for Wednesday's game against the Nuggets.