Rocket coach Rick Adelman is unhappy he's had to bring his team all the way to China, disrupting his training camp. You'll hear no such complaints from Avery Johnson, who thinks the Nets' world tour is good for his team, that they'll bond quicker as a result of all the time they're spending with each other.
Johnson is pushing his boss' mantra of turning the Nets into a global brand as they prepare to move to New York. This trip is just the beginning. Still, the Nets' new coach wants to make sure that he gets maximum effort and maximum advantage out of preseason. He says he needs Devin Harris to be more aggressive in the remaining preseason games.
"We need to figure out how to close corners, finish a half; we have too many duplicate mistakes on defense, careless turnovers," Johnson said in laying out his priorities. After Wednesday's game in Beijing, there'll be more non-basketball events, like yesterday's clinic at a Beijing school, some team photos and then it's on to Guangzhou.
The Nets also brought several of their corporate partners along on the trip, hosting tours and events for CEOs of McDonald's, IZOD and PNY, among others.
- As Nets face Yao Ming and Rockets in China, Mikhail Prokhorov plans global expansion of team brand - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News
- From Russia with love, Nets move on to China, regain focus for last leg of preseason - Conor Orr - Star-Ledger
- Here’s a Net necessity: Devin Harris improving - Al Iannazzone - The Record
- Jet-setting Nets land in China - David Satriano - New York Post
- Lucky kids attend NBA Cares basketball clinic - Huang Shaojie - Global Times
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Rockets notes: Yao glad to be back at Wukesong Arena - Jonathan Feigen - Houston Rockets