Bigger Disappointment: Knicks or Nets?

New New York

Quiet Storm
Look we are both lousy even by Eastern Conference standards. And seeing how they will be soon invading our city soon (thanks Jay!) I take some joy out of seeing Sac go up 30 on them!

But lets stop and think about which team played the most below their level of expectaion. The Knicks were supposed to be fighting for a last spot in the playoffs, but The Nets were supposed to be atleast a second round playoff team. The Nets have a more complete team than us, one of the best PG's in the buisness, two All Stars to compliment him, and a defensive minded coaching staff, yet they sit five games under .500. Hey we both suck, thats a fact, but I think we are atleast not underacheiving like our soon to be subway rivals!
 
Definitely the Nets. They have 3 all star level guys on that team, in addition to some solid role players and good young players. It boggles my mind that they're as bad as they are. Makes me really question Lawrence Frank as a head coach.

All that said as currently constituted I don't see this team being better then a 45 win team. This team is terrible offensively. Jefferson can't consistently score in the half court, Vince Carter, unless as rumored, is being a dog again, looks old, Kidd can't shoot it in the ocean and their bigs have no post up games and have trouble finishing. Besides a post scorer, the biggest problem the nets have had ever since Kittles and Harris have been gone, is outside shooting. In my opinion Rod Thorn in the past few seasons has gone from being one of the best gm's to being one of the most overrated gm's.

If the Nets are keeping their 'big three' they should trade Sean Williams for a guy that could score because by the time Williams develops, if he develops, Carter and Kidd will be even worse then they are now. If I was Thorn I'd first call Memphis to see if they could use Sean Williams in a package for either Mike Miller (perfect guy to play with Kidd) or Pau Gasol. If he was really slick he'd propose a package based around Sean Williams and Richard Jefferson to get both Miller and Gasol. Or I'd call Chicago and see if I could get Nocioni and Gordon and if that doesn't work I'd try to get Bibby and/or Artest from the Kings. It'll never happen but Eddy Curry and Jamal Crawford would really help them as well.

The Nets if Rod Thorn makes the necessary moves can be really good and a real threat to win the east.

On the other hand the Knicks have talent, but none of the parts fit.
 

Pedro De Pacas

Benchwarmer
It's a tough decision.....
On the one hand, I'm not really dissapointed about the Knicks, because I didn't expect this roster to do any better, than it's doing right know.

On the other hand, I can't say, that I'm dissapointed if the Nets are loosing ;o)

My choice goes to the Knicks, because seeing your team loose is always more dissapointing than anything else....
 

New New York

Quiet Storm
It's a tough decision.....
On the one hand, I'm not really dissapointed about the Knicks, because I didn't expect this roster to do any better, than it's doing right know.

On the other hand, I can't say, that I'm dissapointed if the Nets are loosing ;o)

My choice goes to the Knicks, because seeing your team loose is always more dissapointing than anything else....


True it is more disappointing to see the Knicks lose, but I think the Nets have been the bigger let down my an expectation standpoint. A future hall of famer, and two All Stars in a weak Conference and you're a below .500 team. Now the Knicks have at best two to three potential All Stars, but certainley not that the talent or leadership that NJ has.

But lets talk another rival (or past rival)....The Heat! They have almost all the same parts that won them a NBA championship, the same Hall Of Fame coach, two Hall Of Fame Players, and they are dead last in the league, so lets add them to the conversation.
 

abcd

KnicksonLIN.com
The more disappointing team is definitely the Nets. They were expected to make it to the playoffs with at least the 6th seed,and now they're struggling to even make the playoffs.The Knicks are not really disappointing, because even though a lot of fans expected the Knicks to do better, some of the fans, like myself did not expect them to be better, and most of the media didn't expect the Knicks to be better,either.The only disappointing thing about the Knicks is that they are currently 1 game behind the Knicks' record under Larry Brown.I doubt they will finish with under 23 wins, though, cause Larry Brown's Knick team had to lose 19 of 20 games to finish with that record.I could care less about the Nets,but they are more disappointing than the Knicks,since they are struggling to even get a playoff spot, after making the playoffs 6 years straight.I don't like the Nets, so hopefully they don't make the playoffs, and the Pacers or any other team takes their playoff spot.
 
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knicklover

Benchwarmer
I vote for the Nets because they have 3 all star level players. However, I do think there are a few lessons in the Nets failings.

First off, Jefferson and Carter do not mix well. They are both primarily scorers with similar games (athletic etc...) If one has a great game, it sometimes comes out of the performance of the other (similar to Curry and Randolph). What they need is to get rid of one of them and get a big man that can score (preferably Carter because he's older). They screwed up royally by resigning Carter to a contract that will be almost impossible to move unless an idiot like Isiah takes it.

The second lesson has to do with the intangibles of winning and losing. There are some guys that have extraordinary talent that "do not" or "can not" rise up at crunch time and lead their team to victory. Despite their talents, they have more passive personalities, don't perform as well in the last few minutes or so, etc.... Carter is a player like that (and we have one on the Knicks too). It's hard to win and go far with players like that because they are an important part of the team day in and day out, but they can't do it when it really matters on a consistent basis.

That's what seperates the decent teams from the championship contenders. The chamionship contenders have players that hit the big shots in the important tight games, make good decisions at crunch time, don't turn over the ball late in the game, give 150% to get a loose ball or rebound, want to take the last shot etc... Talent and impressive stats are not enough. You need winners on your team. You need guys that like the pressure and consider it a challenge to prove their ability.
 
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