Nets continue to dance to the same old song

Added by Darius Amos on February 15, 2012.

It’s well known that I’m a Knicks fan and I’m beyond stoked that the Jeremy Lin movement has started, but I can’t help sometimes but have selfish feelings. I wish this was happening across the river for the Nets.

Covering the Nets beat is difficult. Not only is good news hard to come by in the Nets world, the bad news is always the same. How many times can we praise Deron Williams and his never-ending hustle and seemingly endless amounts of talent? How many times can we put emphasis on the future, that players like MarShon Brooks and Brook Lopez have the makings of NBA all-stars? How many times can we say “too bad, so sad” when another Nets player goes down to injury, or come down hard on the team when they follow a 48 percent shooting night with a 30 percent from the floor performance?

It’s the same old song and dance for the Nets at the Prudential Center, and frankly, it’s getting old. The Nets are in the midst of a dreadful stretch in which they have lost eight of their last nine games. Their only win during this recent run was a 99-96 victory earlier this month over the lowly Detroit Pistons – and I use the term lowly very loosely since the boys from Motor City beat the Nets twice last week. Of the losses, those games included the birth of the Jeremy Lin phenomenon and thrashing at the hands of the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs.

Here’s something that falls under the topic of same old Nets: the team signed veteran Keith Bogans, an eight-year player who started every game for the Bulls last year. Bogans officially signed with the team on Jan. 31. But that’s not the headline. As most of us know by now, Bogans suffered a season-ending injury one week later – a torn deltoid ligament and fractured left ankle – during one of the team’s losses to Detroit.

I said the good news is always the same, so let’s hear it, you ask. As we all hoped, sharp shooter Anthony Morrow was selected to participate in the three-point shooting contest at NBA All-Star Weekend later this month. If you’re counting, that makes a total of three players who will represent the Nets for the midseason festival, slated for Orlando. Morrow will join Brooks (who will play in the rookie-sophomore game) and D-Will (who’ll play in the real All-Star Game) in Orlando for the event. At the very least, their presence will remind everyone that there are a handful of decent players on the Nets. It will also serve as a reminder that New Jersey still has a basketball team.

Here’s another piece of good news: some of the injuries are healing. MarShon Brooks last week returned from his toe injury that kept him on the sidelines for a few games. He has looked rusty in his two games back was a minus-19 in his 23 minutes of action against the Spurs last Saturday. He went 2-for-10 from the field and committed six turnovers, but the key is that he’s back in the lineup. His presence opens the floor just a bit for D-Will and Morrow, and with more court time and action, Brooks should get back on track.

Our big man Brook Lopez is back to practicing with the team, but his return is not being rushed by the Nets coaching staff. It’s likely that he will be back in action after the All-Star break but he might be willing to give it a go sooner. Whenever he does, it gives him just enough time to get back into shape (though he said he’s gained 10 pounds of muscles) and possibly audition if the Nets are seriously still in the running to acquire Magic center Dwight Howard. But he’s also needed to fill the void in the middle of the Nets’ offensive scheme. To date, Jersey hasn’t had a dominant offensive performance in the paint, except for Kris Humphries’ efforts on the glass.

One other nugget of good news has been the use of the team’s D-League group, the Springfield Armor. Though it’s rare that the D-League produce any type of news, the Nets have used it to keep some of their players sharp. Not receiving much playing time, Jordan Williams was sent to the Armor to log minutes and stay game-fresh, reported Nets blogger Justin DeFeo. He eventually played six games with the Armor before he was recalled to the big team on Jan. 28. Since then, he has been playing anywhere between 10 to 25 minutes for the Nets.

Who knows, maybe the Nets’ recent D-League news will be similar to the Knicks, the team that was on the verge of sending one Jeremy Lin down to their developmental team. We all know how that turned out. I’m not saying Jordan Williams will be the next Jeremy Lin, but no one expected Lin to emerge as the star.

But the reality is, we all know what to expect with the Nets.