J-Kidd and Vince Carter just may lead the Nets to an upset of Miami
Despite some hairy moments, especially in the first quartet when Vince Carter hobbled off the court and again in the fourth quarter when Boston benchwarmers Delonte West and Justin Reed sparked a 8-0 Celtics run that left the Nets with a precarious 96-93 lead with a 1:16 to play, New Jersey prevailed over Boston 102-93 to earn a place in the NBA playoffs.
Unfortunately for the Nets, their reward for finishing the season on a four-game winning streak is a first round date with Shaq, Dwayne Wade, and the rest of the Miami Heat, who earned the top seed in the East by finishing with a conference and franchise best 59-23 record.
Conventional wisdom says the Nets will get squashed like a bug trapped beneath the elephantine feet of the wingnuts’ favorite cover girl Ann Coulter. Just like Coulter is always wrong so too is the conventional wisdom in this case.
The Nets squad that finished the season, led by Kidd and Carter — the NBA’s best backcourt — bears as much resemblance to the New Jersey team that started the season with 2-11 record as Shaq does to Shawn Bradley. Had the Nets began the season with the Kidd-Carter tandem happily ensconced as their starting backcourt, the Nets would’ve run-n-dunked their way to the Atlantic Division title. Throw superlative wing Richard Jefferson, who’s likely to be in the Nets’ starting line-up when they tip-off at 3:30 this Sunday, into the mix and this is a formidable squad. In either conference.
Does that mean that they have the juice to beat Shaq and the Heat in a seven-game series? Probably not. But it does mean that this series will be a seven-game war and not the glorified scrimmage that most people are expecting.
The Rundown
Last week, I criticized the Florida Atlantic administration for giving the keys to their program to that irksome hairball Matt Doherty. My reason for doing so was that I assumed that Doherty would ride out of town as soon as possible while the Owls would left to toil in Atlantic Sun obscurity, as Doherty plied his trade at some Big East or ACC school.
Well, I’m not above saying I was wrong, which I was in this case. Turns out the Owls are joining the Sun Belt Conference in 2006. The Sun Belt is a league with enough respect and big enough national profile that mid-major teams can have sustained success. Both the Ragin Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers of the Sun Belt have established the sort of reps that get them Top 25 votes and games on ESPN.
While I still think Doherty’s an ass and that he wasn’t the right choice, he’s slippery and sly enough to have success at Florida Atlantic. His name recognition alone should be good for an ESPN2-televised home game next year, and a couple more in 2006 when the Owls are in the Sun Belt.
As to how long Doherty will stick around Boca, well, I still don’t believe this is a long-term move for him no matter what he says about how cool it’d be to build a program. According to the terms of the deal, Doherty would have to pay FAU $200,000 if he leaves after one season, $100,000 after two years at the helm, and less each season that he sticks around.
Certainly, FAU AD Jerry Angelos and president Frank Brogan deserve props for clever negotiating but it still seems like Doherty’s likely to be out the door after his third season, which is about how long it will take to build the Owls into a winner in the competitive Sun Belt.
Being one of the most ardent mid-major fans this side of Kyle, I’d love for Doherty to prove that I don’t what the fuck I’m talking about by sticking around FAU for the next fifteen seasons. It’s just that along with being a mid-major fan, I’m also a realist. In fact, it’s impossible to be one and not the other. And in mid-major land, coaches are like deadbeat dads: they don’t stick around.
on Apr 21st, 2005 at 8:05 pm
Bring On Miami!
This will be a great series, with Kidd and O’Neal….