7th in blocks per game, 8th in opponents points per game and steals per game, too. New York’s up there in the same defensive statistics, though, so I guess you should take these statistics with a grain of salt.

Preseason means squat but we do know that we have some wings and a center that can play their butts off

@ Mr. Dollar Bills

I agree with you 100%. The question is not how the wings and center will play. The real question is how the forward (umm…YI) position will hold up and if the backup bigmen can provide quality minutes when Brook and Yi are on the bench.

Yi has shown a good deal of improvement in the preseason. He basically had his way with Elton Brand last night. We complain about Yi, but I will take him, his manageable salary, and his considerable upside, anyday over Brand, and his balky knees and his bloated long term contract. I think for as well as Lee and TWill played this preseason, they will actually play better during the regular season. They have the ability to suffucate you on defense, and thats all about intensity and rising to the moment, so when the moments get bigger I expect them to play bigger. CDR looks very good, not sure he will be able to score as easily as he had during this preseason but he will be effective. To be honest I am most concerned with Devin and Brook – not concerned about their ability just concerned if they will be able and ready to step up and raise their games and be the leaders of this team the way we need them to be with Vince gone. We have always expected them to play like all stars this season but its not that easy. Brook seems like he still has some growing pains to go through and Devin needs to ensure he gets everyone involved, especially Yi. So question marks remain.

The coach likes to go small. The game yesterday gave him the chance to see the best of what small ball we could produce. Also Yi played his best game in preseason and when he plays well it shows as a team immediately. Maybe TWill could back up Yi at PF against certain matchups. After Lopez our next 4 best players are all small. To me it’s not a recipe for success but I bet the coach likes it. One thing I learned yesterday was I’d rather see Twill play than Simmons at any position.

Preseason cannot simultaneously mean “squat” and prove that some young Nets “can play their butts off”. Preseason stats certainly mean “squat” or a reasonable facsimile of “squat” (“squat lite” perhaps).

You want “squat”? Try summer league. That’s “squat”, as proven by TWill’s awful performance in summer and his highly promising performance in preseason.

As for Yi, if before preseason people were asked, “would you be happy if Yi had three very good games of at least 20 points and 8 rebounds?”, the response would have been a chorus of hosannas in the highest.

Lots of weeping and gnashing of teeth over Ryan Anderson’s preseason, but little joy over Yi’s when in fact they had very similar numbers. Anderson did 14 and 4, Yi 12 and 7.5.

Its funny how similar Anderson and Yi are. Both are going to turn out to be really good players. Anderson is likely going to always be a little better of a shooter, Yi is likely going to always be a little better of a rebounder. If forced to choose between the two, I would take Yi because I value rebounding over shooting. However, Anderson is younger and he might still be able to grow different aspects of his game over time.

@Mr. Big
The Nets “frenzy” offense was without Harris. I think adding Harris to that mix should not be underestimated.

without a doubt twill over simmons, in fact in shouldn’t get anytime. same goes with najara.

The similarity between Anderson and Yi is why I felt Anderson was expendable in the VC trade. Unfortunately Anderson would not have gotten the minutes here – as the front office/marketing people are committed to Yi. Honestly, Yi probably does have more upside than Anderson and was probably the right decision.

I’m not a fan of small ball or of playing TWill as a 4 – but I do think in some situations it will be used and will be effective.

One issue in this years draft that I think will define the Nets is that they will need to rank players differently than many other lottery teams. Unlike most teams likely to end up in the lottery, the Nets will have a ready made nucleus. This could serve as both a blessing and a curse. While the Nets will have positional need (PF, backup Center, backup PG) the Nets need to be very careful about adding the right type of player to their mix. They can not afford to take a chance on a questionable character guy and they need to draft players who buy into the team first concept and are committed on defense. The committment to defense is particularly true of anyone drafted at the PF or Center spots. Unlike many teams, the Nets are not in position to draft a “The Man” type player – but need to focus on drafting a guy who will fit with the pieces in place.

As many of you will agree – our biggest need will be at the PF position, and I think this is unrelated to Yi’s progress this season. We simply need to have another PF on this team.

The problem with PFs in this draft is that many of the top players still lack strength and have similiar builds to Yi (Derrick Favors, Greg Monroe, John Henson, and Greg Monroe)or are indifferent defenders (DeMarcus Cousins).

The Nets NEED to draft a PF with the body and the strength to compete down low – who will buy into playing defense and is physical enough to compete for boards in traffic. And next year is going to be a very important year for the development of this franchise – its imperative that the Nets are a playoff team in the 2010-2011 season.

If the Nets win the top pick – I think you have to take John Wall and use him in a rotation with DH and Courtney in the backcourt. If the Nets do not win the top pick – I think they seriously need to have Solomon Alabi on their radar as their top pick. I view him as having the most potential of any center prospect in the draft – and I think his athleticism and shot blocking skills will enable him to play minutes with Brook on the floor.

Most people will find themselves to be in the Derrick Favors/Ed Davis camp – and both of these guys could develop into studs in the NBA. But these guys need to put on serious strength and weight over the next year in order to have much of an impact in their rookie seasons. The problem with both of these guys – is that do they have the bodies that will allow them to develop into premier defensive players.

This is not a bad problem to have, but one that the Nets need to be cognizant as this season progresses – as the need to match players with the puzzle pieces already assembled is greater on this team than it will be on other lottery bound teams and will be the biggest determinant of our success in the future.

I am encouraged. as long as this team shows hustle and desire then i will not get to down on them. if yi can give us 14 and 7 a nite i would be fine with that, if done in an effecient manner.

was it me or did battie play better than boone has in a while?

i still would like to see cdr off the bench though. start williams.

I dont know…i feel like Anderson is tougher and has more hustle than Yi…you cant see those things on the stat sheet but he seems like he has more potential to be a game changer than Yi.

The minutes category is meaningless, Tyreke Evans averaged 31 mpg

Yi is fine with me, I just think that he isn’t cut out as a full time starter. He would be better suited as the first PF off the bench, and that’s not a knock on him because I see a different Yi this year over last. Offensively he’s definitely an asset, defensively he is bi polar.

My main worry is, how in the heck does he play out of his mind when the starting PG in on the sidelines in a tailored suit, but looks lost and inefficient when the starting PG is playing?

Something is wrong with that.

^Agree with DB; We’ll have to see the chemistry w/ DH and w/o DH in the lineup. Like I mentioned it in another post, if it appears as though our development as a TEAM is better with DH off the floor, I wouldn’t mind us exploring trading him. But, we’ll have to see how things go during the regular season.

I would say, start TWill at PG and trade DH for several draft picks after the season is over!

@Ryan
I don’t think we know what “our real need” will be, eight months before the draft, four days before the season starts. If Yi averages 15 and 7, will that be the Nets’ “real need”? Moreover, they may even have an idea on Draft Night where they stand with free agents. That may figure as well.

Also, the Nets do draft “best player available” rather than “for need”, with some wiggle room. Remember, if Lopez hadn’t been available at #10 in 2008, they’ve said they would have drafted Jerryd Bayless. Too much talent to pass up even if his game mirrored Harris’.

As Dumpy has written several times on the eve of the draft, the Nets seem to follow certain rules in their draft picks: players from big programs with good coaching, players who aren’t necessarily their college team’s best scorer, players who are tall for their position, players who have at least two or three years of college experience. TWill fits all Dumpy’s rules. Lopez, Anderson and CDR all fit some of those rules, in particular: big programs, tall for their position, a few years in college. It works.

I know it’s off topic, but our boy VC still has it! Watch this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6KFbflROEk&feature=fvw

Who we draft and who we play are two different issues. We might draft “players who are tall for their position” but use players that are small for their position. Imo the rules for the draft that we use are good but we don’t follow them on the court and some rules are more important than others like “players who are tall for their position” which I love. I believe in general the "need" should out weight the "best player available" when it comes down to the draft. Assuming the person drafting is good at judging talent, like Thorn, what good is TWill as the “best player available” when he has to sit behind CDR for instance while we get hammered at the PF position on a regular basis. It looks like CDR has improved greatly and maybe the team didn’t see him coming into his own but we still have Hayes in the mix. The team needs to be balanced. That’s the beauty of b-ball where your weakness can be exploited easily especially in the front court. Smalls can hide behind bigs but not the other way around.

I still dont know why The nets didnt sign Brandon Bass he wouldve Been perfect

very potential team :D

I like what I saw the last game and I hope Frank keep this line up for as long as they are healthy. Let the others Simmons, Najera and Hassle sits .
so let it be
Harris/Dooling/Alston
Lee/CDR
Terrence/Hayes
Yi/Battie
Brook/Boone or Sean.