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Nets blog – Brooklyn Nets blog. A great Nets news blog
Rockets guard/forward Tracy McGrady is a cousin of Nets guard Vince Carter.
Houston center Dikembe Mutombo played two seasons with the Nets (2002-03, 2003-04) prior to joining Houston.
New Jersey forward Eduardo Najera was selected by Houston in the second round of the 2000 NBA Draft.
Nets forward/center Stromile Swift played the 2005-06 season with the Rockets.
New Jersey forward/center Sean Williams is a native of Houston.
The Sports Business Journal (Daniel Kaplan and John Lombardo) reports: The NBA is set to borrow $175 million Feb. 26, marking one of the first league financings since the implosion of the credit markets last fall. The money, which will be available to 15 teams, supplements an existing $1.7 billion leaguewide credit facility that uses the NBA’s media contracts as collateral to secure loans for the clubs. The NBA surveyed its teams, and 15 responded they would like to tap into the new borrowing. While the league said it is pleased to borrow in an extremely illiquid credit market, the deal came at a cost, with interest rates up to 8.27 percent, hammering home the notion that the era of cheap money in sports is over. The 15 teams can use the money for any purpose, but covering operating losses may be high on the list.
InsideHoops.com editor says: Loan me three fiddy. I want some ribs.
The New York Daily News (Julian Garcia) reports: Sean Williams, the Nets’ top draft pick in 2007, was arrested Sunday at Boston College for violating terms of a restraining order against him. Williams, who played at BC, was taken into custody prior to BC’s game against Duke and charged with trespassing, a misdemeanor. An arraignment is scheduled for later this month. Williams was at practice at the Toyota Center here last night but said “no comment” several times as he tied his sneakers and headed to the court.
The New York Post (Fred Kerber) reports: Sean Williams was arrested Sunday for violating terms of a restraining order that banned him from the Boston College campus. Williams, who declined comment, nodded his head affirmatively when asked if he had been invited to the B.C.-Duke game. So he went but violated the restraining order. Williams, you’ll recall, was bounced from the B.C. team in ’07 for repeated team violations (read: marijuana). So by showing up he was guilty of trespassing, a misdemeanor. He faces a court hearing later this month.
The AP reports: Tim Duncan had 27 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and the San Antonio Spurs posted a 108-93 victory over New Jersey on Tuesday night, beating the Nets for the 13th straight time. Matt Bonner scored 13 of his 22 points in the opening 5 minutes of the third quarter in helping the Spurs win for the 15th time in 19 games since the start of 2009. Tony Parker added 20 points and Bruce Bowen came off the bench in the third quarter to help cool off a hot Vince Carter, who led the Nets with 25 points. Devin Harris added 21 points for New Jersey, which lost its second straight game after winning a season-high four straight. Brook Lopez added 18 points.
The Denver Post (Chris Dempsey) reports: Asked how the Nuggets expect to bounce back from their last game, a 44-point pounding at New Jersey, forward Carmelo Anthony had a simple response. “What game?” he said, smiling about Saturday’s game that at the time was no laughing matter. Said guard Chauncey Billups: “I forgot all about that game. I didn’t even know we played Saturday. As a matter of fact, we didn’t play Saturday.” Amnesia might be the best way for the Nuggets to move on from their worst loss this season, but as they practiced Monday at American Airlines Arena, they mixed forgetting with equal parts humor and trust.
The AP reports: Playing fewer minutes and sitting out key stretches, Dwight Howard had 30 points and 16 rebounds to lift the Orlando Magic to a 101-84 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Sunday night. Howard played a little more than 35 minutes, about seven fewer than he’d been playing over the past few weeks… Mickael Pietrus added 17 points, and Hedo Turkoglu scored 15 for the Magic, who rebounded from an ugly loss to Indiana on Friday and improved to 2-1 since All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson suffered a shoulder injury. Devin Harris had 28 points and 12 assists, and Brook Lopez added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Nets, who had their four-game winning streak snapped a day after beating Denver 114-70 in maybe their most impressive performance of the season.
The AP reports: Devin Harris scored 14 of his 28 points from the free-throw line and the New Jersey Nets posted their second biggest victory in franchise history with a stunning 114-70 decision over the frustrated Denver Nuggets on Saturday night… Rookie Brook Lopez added 15 points and nine rebounds for New Jersey, while Carter had 12 points and eight assists. Carmelo Anthony had 15 points to lead the Nuggets on a night that the Nets refused to let them get to the rim, one of the staples of an offense that was averaging 104.7 points, fourth best in the league.
The AP reports: In what hardly seemed like a fair fight, the Nets won their third straight game Wednesday night by shooting 61 percent in a 115-88 victory over the worst-in-the-East Washington Wizards, who had Caron Butler absent with the flu and Antawn Jamison giving a should-have-been-absent 4-for-20 shooting performance. Devin Harris scored 26 points, Vince Carter added 20, Ryan Anderson got 18, and Keyon Dooling had 14 for the Nets, who made 12 of 22 3-pointers and turned the game into a rout by outscoring the Wizards 35-18 in the third period.
The AP reports: This was not the homecoming Richard Jefferson envisioned. Vince Carter made sure of that. “R.J. was being R.J.,” Carter said. “So we had a good time with him.” Carter had 15 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for his fifth career triple double, and the New Jersey Nets spoiled Jefferson’s return with a 99-85 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night… Although he started off the night by missing his first three shots, Jefferson finished by hitting 7-of-16 from the field to lead Milwaukee with 27 points… Brook Lopez had 22 points and 12 rebounds to complement Carter, who had his third triple-double with the Nets and first since April 4, 2002, against Washington.
A new PlayStation Skills Challenge champion will be crowned as the New Jersey Nets’ Devin Harris, the Orlando Magic’s Jameer Nelson, the San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker and the Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose will take the floor on Feb. 14, as part of NBA All-Star Saturday Night at US Airways Center in Phoenix.
My initial prediction is that Jameer Nelson will win it.
Why? Because he has the most to prove.
This is the season that Nelson put himself on the map. He has faced years of doubt and was often considered to be more suitable as a backup than a starter.
Devin Harris is having a breakout season too. But he hasn’t faced years orf criticism and doubt like Nelson has.
Rose and Parker can win it, too. If they want.
Anyone can take it. But even though it’s a minor event I bet Nelson wants it the most.