Something I did not expect, but still am not surprised at from the East this season, is the success and now apparently smokin hot New Jersey Nets. While all the focus in the pre-season and for the most part of the NBA season has been whether Miami or Detroit will represent the East in the NBA finals against the monsters from the Western Conference, whoever that turns out to be, New Jersey has quietly been positioning themselves nicely. I think down the stretch, the New Jersey Nets are a team to be reckoned with, especially at home where they are crushing people and stand at 26-9, the third best home record in the East, and also hold that same ranking as the third best win/loss record in the East overall. Of course the 2 teams in front of them are Miami and Detroit, and on April 2, in their most recent game before this article, they just walloped Miami at home 90-78 as 5-point chalk.
So why the sudden charge, including winning 12 games in a row as of April 3 and going 7-2-1 ATS their last 10? I can assure you they are not doing it on offense where they rank 23rd in points at 93 ppg, or offensive rebounds either where they rank 28th in the NBA at only 9 offensive boards per game, and that is an area that needs addressed quickly with 12 games left in the regular season before they playoffs. It is defense that has been the key for the Nets this season, and at home they shut people down big time. The Nets rank 5th overall in the NBA on defense, and 6th overall in FG% allowed, and they hit the boards well on defense and do not allow a ton of second chance points which is huge in the NBA.
Vince Carter is paying dividends big time leading the Nets in scoring at 24 ppg, and of course the ageless Jason Kidd, who averages 9 assists a game and leads the team in rebounds, which does not bode well for the Nets frontcourt, especially against teams like Detroit and Miami, so that has to improve. Richard Jefferson has been instrumental in helping out the Nets at 19 ppg and 7 boards on the average, and we all know he can score 30 points at times, and Vince Carter just went off for 43 against Miami's defense, so the Nets can be explosive, but overall their team balance is solid, however depth is an issue.
The Nets have had the ability to adjust to up-tempo teams and score points to match them, while holding teams who average close to, or over 100 ppg. Recent wins over Dallas and Washington and an impressive butt kicking over the Suns all yielded the Nets scoring over 100 points against those high octane offensive teams, and the last 2 wins they posted, over Miami by 12 points and the Suns, who they absolutely destroyed by 38 points, were most impressive to me and are an indication that anyone who does not bring their "A" game when playing the Nets, especially on the road, are going to get it handed to them.
Signs of trouble deep into the playoffs are on the horizon, such as depth and they strength of play out of Jason Collins. At 7-foot and a forward, the production is not there and 3.5 ppg and 4 boards. Looking at the center position, Nenad Krstic has been solid at 13 points and 6 boards per game, but there is no depth there, and against the crème of the crop of the East, if he gets in foul trouble, that poses a threat for success for New Jersey. The trio of Kidd, Carter and Jefferson is hard to ignore and one of the better ones in the East, but play from the bench and better forward play out of Collins is needed for the Nets to seriously contend in the Playoffs.
Right now my money is on New Jersey in certain scenario's, and it looks like if they go deep into the playoffs, they will get Miami in a 7 games series, and although they have had success against them, with Wade and Shaq healthy, it will be a tall chore for their frontcourt to contend in a 10 or 12 day, 7 game series with lack of talent on the bench. Cliff Robinson is their best bet and has much better numbers and more game than Jason Collins, so maybe an adjustment in that area will add some frontcourt presence and help out the Nets, but I assure you the Nets are a hot team, a good cover team, and are riding high at the moment and a team to look for come post season time. I can easily see them in the Eastern Conference finals this year, so keep an eye on them.
