Meet The Nets

Jason Collins
His Role: When MacCulloch was out with injury, Collins filled in nicely. The Stanford alum brings size and a soft touch to the fold.
2002 Playoffs: He has grabbed 5 or more boards three times in Round Two versus Charlotte.

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Lucious Harris
His Role: As one of the team’s few pure jump shooters, Harris plays a big part of the Nets fortunes when the club is forced to slow from its preferred run-and-gun offense to a half-court set. The team’s number one offensive option off the bench, Harris is best distinguished by the face guard he wears after a late-season injury to his face.
2002 Playoffs: Has come off the bench in all 9 games, averaging just over 20 minutes and 8 points per game. For a guard, his 55 percent clip from the field is quite impressive.
Connection To The Green: Don’t tell fellow L.A. native Paul Pierce, but Harris grew up in the City of Angels at the height of the Celtics-Lakers rivalry a fan of Larry Bird and the Green..

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Richard Jefferson
His Role: One of the top rookies in the NBA, Jefferson’s athleticism at the small forward spot separates him from most other first year performers.
2002 Playoffs: He has appeared in all 9 games off the bench and averaged nearly 9 points and 5 boards per game..
Connection To The Green:Like Celtics rookie Kedrick Brown, he played not only basketball in high school, but was a jumper on his varsity track team.

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Anthony Johnson
His Role: Having averaged just over 10 minutes per game in the regular season over 34 games, Johnson spells the players in the Nets back court rotation.
2002 Playoffs: His role in the playoffs has been consistent with that in the regular season.
Connection To The Green: Played with Roshown McLeod on the Atlanta Hawks for parts of three seasons from 1998-99 through 2000-01.

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Jason Kidd
His Role: The runner-up in the 2002 NBA MVP balloting, no player had more to do with the turnaround of his team’s fortunes than Kidd. He is the sparkplug for the club on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor.
2002 Playoffs: Despite sustaining a nasty head gash in a collision with Charlotte’s David Wesley, Kidd has remained the Nets’ rock. He is averaging over 20 points and nearly 8 boards and 7 assists per game.
Connection To The Green: Was a teammate of Erick Strickland’s in Dallas for a portion of the 1996-97 season. It was that season in which the Mavs traded Kidd to the Suns, where he went on to play alongside Rodney Rogers and Tony Delk. Kidd was the man dishing passes to Delk in the game in which Delk scored a career-high 53 points during the 2000-01 season.

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Kerry Kittles
His Role: Having completed a season injury free for the first time in his NBA career, Kittles has emerged as the Nets top marksman, having averaged just over 13 points per game on nearly 47 percent shooting from the field.
2002 Playoffs: His scoring has been down, as he has averaged less than 10 points per game. But should the Celtics force the Nets into half court sets, Kittles is a man to watch.
Connection To The Green: Kittles jousted with both Eric Williams (Providence College) and Mark Blount (University of Pittsburgh) in his standout Big East Conference college career at Villanova University.

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Todd MacCulloch
His Role: When the Nets signed the 7-footer to a large contract in the off-season, it raised many eyebrows. After all, MacCulloch had been a reserve for the Sixers in his first two years in the league and promised to be little more than a big body in the lane. But MacCulloch surprised many this year, averaging nearly 10 points and 7 boards per game, while blocking nearly 1.5 shots per game. He may have never been more productive, but a mid-season injury kept him out of 20 ball games.
2002 Playoffs: Although his numbers are down in the playoffs, MacCulloch preformed well versus the Celtics during the regular season and should be a presence Jim O’Brien has prepared for.

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Donny Marshall
His Role: An athletic player with good size, Marsall can fill-in at both the 3 and 4 spots.
2002 Playoffs: Has seen just under three minutes per game.
Connection To The Green? Has made more than one appearance at Boston’s Shaw’s Pro Summer League at Umass-Boston in his NBA career.

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Kenyon Martin
His Role: His talent (team-highs in points and blocks) and athleticism at the power forward spot is often overshadowed by his penchant for rugged play – which often draws the ire of opposing players and fans. Celtics fans got a glimpse of this when he and Vitaly Potapenko wrangled in the Celtics and Nets last regular season meeting.
2002 Playoffs: Martin has been a consistent force for the Nets in the scoring (almost 17 PPG), rebounding (almost 6 RPG), and personal fouls (averaging over 4 per game) columns.
Connection To The Green: After suffering a broken leg in a conference tournament game in his senior year at the University of Cincinnati, Martin again broke his leg in a game against the Celtics last March – standing as his second major leg injury in a calendar year.

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Brian Scalabrine
His Role: The rookie big man saw action in 28 games, getting just over 10 minutes per contest.
2002 Playoffs: Has seen action in a just under 3 minutes per game.
Connection To The Green: Scalabrine, a rookie who worked out for the Celtics prior to the 2001 NBA Draft, is a huge fan of Larry Bird.

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Keith Van Horn
His Role: When he is on, Van Horn is a force to be reckoned with. At 6-10, he can be tough to guard with his out-side shot. .
2002 Playoffs: Van Horn has emerged in the playoffs, not only scoring and rebounding, but becoming more of a physical presence. In their first round win over Indiana, Van Horn scored 27 points in the Game Five clincher.
Connection To The Green: Van Horn and the University of Utah were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament by the University of Kentucky in two straight years. In 1996, Antoine Walker, Walter McCarty, Tony Delk, Jim O’Brien and the rest of the Wildcats squad eliminated Van Horn & Co. in the Sweet Sixteen en route to the a national title.

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Aaron Williams
His Role: Williams has a power body and a power game. At 6-9, 240 lbs., he can rebound and score if called upon.
2002 Playoffs: He has twice topped the 10-point mark, scoring as many as 15 versus the Pacers in Round One, and peaked on the glass with 8 boards in Game Four versus Indiana.
Connection To The Green: Williams' favorite music artist, R. Kelly, is a die-hard Celtics fan..

Compiled by Reagan Berube