Nets Show Progress In Big Win Over Nuggets

Five years after he was shipped to Denver, Kenyon Martin barely recognizes his former team anymore.  Why would he?  Jason Kidd is in Dallas, Richard Jefferson now plays for Milwaukee and Kerry Kittles calls home, well, home.  Even Tamar Slay had a recent tryout with the Golden State Warriors.

“I look to see how (head coach) Lawrence (Frank) is doing, but other than that, there’s nobody left here to follow,” Martin said before Saturday’s game at the Izod Center.

Martin, a fan favorite in his four years with the Nets, has fond memories of playing in East Rutherford.  During those years, the Nets were in the playoffs annually, including back-to-back trips to the Finals.  This season, Martin is part of a Denver team (34-17) that he feels is much more talented than any of the ones he played on in New Jersey.

“As long as we keep going in that direction, not having any letdowns, it’s great,” the quiet forward said.

“I don’t know if the word is a peace we’re going to play the right way and be in every game,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “But, it’s more so now than ever before.”

Since Martin was traded to the Nuggets in 2004, the Nets have endured some major turnover.  Only a few coaches remain from those teams that lost in the Finals, and even their logo is different.  It’s all part of the rebuilding phase.

New Jersey (24-28) again find itself at the bottom of the East playoff standings.  As of Monday, they hold the eighth and final spot, but there’s a cluster of teams closely behind.

“You look at it and there’s really 14 teams that are involved in the playoffs,” Frank said. “I think that you can only really worry about yourself and the way you play.  If you focus on those, the wins will take care of themselves.”

The Nets feature one of the top backcourts in the NBA with All-Star’s Devin Harris and Vince Carter manning the guard spots.  Harris is averaging 21.8 ppg and just over six assists this season.  Carter, meanwhile, is dropping over 20 points and grabbing more than five rebounds a game.

In front of them is center Brook Lopez, one of the top rookies in the league, who is averaging 12 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.  On both sides of Lopez are a number of key role players (Keyon Dooling, Jarvis Hayes, Bobby Simmons), several of which have stepped in nicely since Yi Jianlian went down with a hand injury.

Based on Saturday’s performance, you would have thought the Nets were among the best teams in the NBA, not the Nuggets.  Harris led all scorers with 28 points and rookie forward Ryan Anderson picked up his first career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.  Six players scored in double figures and all but guard Chris Roberts-Douglas made a basket.

The final: Nets 114, Nuggets 70.

Forty four points.  That was the differential on the scoreboard at the end of the game.  It was the Nets biggest victory in franchise history and the Nuggets largest loss since April 16, 1997.  I guess the Nets mastered Denver’s man-to-man defense.

“We can’t be too overconfident with this win,” Anderson said. “We have so many talented teams coming up that we can’t overlook them.”

“Everybody’s really on the same page now and just working together,” Carter said. “There’s more communication on the floor, especially on the defensive end and sharing the ball on the offensive end.”

Harris said the win should show other teams in the East that the Nets aren’t an easy win on their schedules.

“We’re improving as a team,” Harris said. “You can’t just hone in on two guys now.  We’ve got five or six guys playing really well right now and counting.”

The win was the Nets’ fourth in a row, a new season high.  It’s not enough to make teams in the East worry, but it’s a start.

“We’re just trying to build on what we’re doing lately,” Dooling said. “I don’t worry about sending messages.  We are just trying to stay in the playoff hunt and get better as a team.”