NET NOTES
Alonzo Mourning admits his right pinkie, which he must tape to his ring finger to stabilize ligament damage, causes him problems. But he really doesn’t want to talk about it much.
So let the numbers talk for him.
In his first five games, Mourning shot .550 (22-of-40), averaged 13.2 points and committed 2.8 turnovers a game. In the next three games, including the contest where he sustained the injury, Mourning shot .333 (8-of-24), averaged 10.0 points and committed 4.7 turnovers per.
“It’s something I have to deal with,” said Mourning, returning from a kidney transplant. “I can’t sit out. I can, but after coming off transplant surgery, what would it look like sitting out because of a pinkie?”
Mourning feels his passing suffers most.
“Ball control is the problem, holding onto the ball, passing, picking it up,” he said. “It’s hard. All that stuff, catching. All that stuff is [more] of a challenge. But I have to work with what I have. I’ve been in worse situations. I have to improvise and make adjustments.”
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No one is more excited about Jason Kidd coming back from knee surgery than Nets coach Lawrence Frank. But Frank admits neither he nor his players can get overly pumped, because as good as Kidd is, he still is just one player.
“We understand it’s not one guy,” Frank said before last night’s home game against the Wizards. “You have to be a total team. Not one guy comes in and [turns it around] We have to save ourselves. Obviously, Jason is a Hall of Fame player. He’s going to help you but at the same time, we can’t look for anyone to come with a cape.
“Everything has been very positive . . . we feel real fortunate there haven’t been any setbacks. He’s upping the rehab and then the big measure is at some point toward the beginning part of December, he’ll start being implemented into practices.”
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Nets have four-game trip starting Tuesday against Kenyon Martin and Nuggets in Denver. Next, they might see Kerry Kittles with the Clips on Thanksgiving.