Nets turnaround

PARIS (George Eddy's International Show) - All the critics and observers who threw the Brooklyn Nets under the bus in the first month of the season are going to have to eat their words. The Nets are going to turn things around under one condition: that Deron Williams and Brook Lopez stay healthy and on the court!

THEY are the two key players to Brooklyn's ambitious and expensive win-now project which was proven by all the difficulties the Nets encountered while they were in and out of the line-up.

Too much attention was directed to Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett during the string of losses in the first month and this was unfair because at their age they came to Brooklyn to fill holes and provide valuable experience during the playoffs, not carry the team during the marathon regular season full of back-to-backs!

Brooklyn without Williams and Lopez is like the Chicago Bulls without Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah; it's just not the same team. Deron gets everything and everyone moving while Lopez is the best offensive center in the East and a darn good rim protector too.

We saw during Brooklyn's recent three-game winning streak what their team will become. Joe Johnson, their most consistent performer from the start, is no longer obliged to carry the team and using Pierce off the bench while he gets back into game shape is logical. Pierce and Kobe Bryant, coming back from injuries at 35, make me think of Michael Jordan when he came back as a player with the Washington Wizards, very slow but still capable of a few flashes from the past!

If Andray Blatche stays focused and Andrei Kirilenko (another key player) cures his back spasms, the Nets will make a nice run up the standings in the pathetic Eastern Conference where there is more talk about tanking in order to profit from the best draft class since 2003 (LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade...etc) than there is talk of trying to make the playoffs!

Of course, during the bad streak, many people enjoyed the chance to pounce on Brooklyn's owner who was trying to BUY a title, something which has been proven to be impossible by the New York Knicks. Rookie head coach Jason Kidd was highly-criticised and often seemed lost on the bench but in the long run he should have the leadership qualities necessary to succeed as an NBA coach the way Larry Bird did with the Indiana Pacers and not the way Magic Johnson failed with the Los Angeles Lakers!

The poor handling of the Lawrence Frank situation added pressure and media scrutiny to an already pressure-packed, losing period. The truth is that Frank wants to be a HEAD coach not an assistant.

Of course, in the short run, the Nets would have probably been better off if they had outbid the Los Angeles Clippers for Doc Rivers or if they had chosen the experience of a Lionel Hollins or George Karl to profit from the short window of opportunity which is open to Brooklyn for two seasons.

Now that we have gotten a taste of Brooklyn's true potential, it will take patience to let Kidd and his players acquire and maintain good health, shared experience and progress during the regular season in order to make a decent showing in the playoffs.

I feel that this will be a season of transition towards a winning culture and in 2014-2015 the Nets could be ready to make a last-dance type run at the title.

George Eddy

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