Quick, let’s play word association. What do you think of when you hear: “New Jersey Nets?”
Losing. Empty arenas. Bad shooting. Worse defense. Hideous amounts of injuries.
Valid answers all. Now, Byron Scott hopes to change all that. Or some of that. After all, some things never change.
Before the first bead of sweat hit the floor, before the first player collapsed from Scott’s near-torturous regimen (he played for Pat Riley, don’t forget), the Nets’ injury list swelled by two yesterday. Lucious Harris will be lost for 6-to-8 weeks due to a hernia that requires surgery. Also, Jamie Feick is suffering from an inflamed left Achilles tendon that will require surgery later this week. To replace Harris, the Nets finalized a make-good deal with 6-2 guard Kevin Ollie, who played with the Sixers last season after time in Dallas, Orlando and in Sacramento (with Scott) the two previous seasons.
“When you lose two guys like that early, it’s disheartening,” said Scott, obviously getting the hang of being around the Nets. “One good thing, if any, about guys getting hurt early is they get a chance to take care of it and be back ready before December.”
Feick’s injury kept him out of Scott’s first practice day, which by all accounts tested the conditioning of even those in top condition.
Team president Rod Thorn said the Nets “were trying to get [Ollie] to our training camp” before Harris’ condition was discerned.
Harris said he was not in pain but asked doctors to check swelling in his groin area when he went for his physical Monday. The doctors found the hernia and recommended surgery, which will be performed Thursday.
“They [doctors] said it gradually gets bigger and it increases as you increase workouts. I’m very disappointed,” Harris offered.
So now the Nets seek to fill the back-up two guard spot behind Kendall Gill, who was on hand after missing Monday’s Media Day (he thought it was Tuesday). Ollie is more of a point guard, although Scott praised him as a “very solid” guy who “plays both ends, plays real hard doesn’t make a lot of mistakes.”
Another possibility could be using small forward Johnny Newman, the best perimeter shooter on the team, at the two. Scott said he very “probably” would consider it.
“I’d love it. I just want to be on the court. Whatever’s needed, I’ll be there,” said Newman, who saw no drawbacks in the move and who, like most players, gave high praise to Scott first day.
It was hard, all agreed. Scott said most were either in good shape or real good shape, although some dragged. In that group came rookie Kenyon Martin. But Scott quickly jumped to the rookie’s defense, explaining that he hadn’t really done much since March because of a leg injury. And after starting a Nets’ regimen, he was forced to break away for a week to attend the NBA’s mandatory rookie orientation program.
“I hadn’t done anything like this,” Martin said. “I was in college for four years and I thought the stuff we did at school was hard. This is another level from college. But you can’t quit and I didn’t. I kept going.”
And how tough was it on Day 1? Consider that Gill, who prides himself on his conditioning, noted, “It was the first tough practice that I kind of struggled through and I’m in great shape.”
But Gill quickly amended that if the team works this hard “it’s going to be a great year.”
Unless everybody gets injured. And with the Nets, anything is possible.