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Lakers @ Nets: Tuesday, February 5th By Matt McQueeny, NJNets.com Frank Talks Knight Legendary College Head Coach Bobby Knight retired yesterday from his job as the head man at Texas Tech. In the late 1980s to early 1990s, a certain Nets Head Coach spent four seasons as a team manager for Knight, then at the University of Indiana. “With Coach obviously his career speaks for itself,” said Lawrence Frank, that former bright-eyed manager. “He’s impacted so many lives in terms of current players, former players, former managers, fans, and the game. His impact is going to be everlasting. It’s historical obviously with 903 wins. You can’t say enough about a guy who has given so much to the game.” “I think when it was time, it was time. He obviously felt it was time. Judging by his comments, he wanted to put Pat (his son) in a situation where he could get a feel for the team and kind of get a little bit better practical experience in terms of coaching those guys as opposed to going into a new season. Now he’ll have a little bit more of an opportunity to get a feel for those guys as the head coach.” Nachbar Update Bostjan Nachbar was on the far side of the court at shoot around this morning knocking down straightaway jumpers. There was a tall contraption below the hoop that corralled the rebounds, fed the basketballs into a funnel, and then automatically passed the ball back to Nachbar. That, however, was not the strangest sight, as Nachbar was wearing a big brace-like covering around his torso. “He’s got a little bit of a sore back,” said Frank. “It was a hip flexor and then he’s got a little bit of lower back. I think it probably all stems from the ankle, just compensation.” Pau Will Play According to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, Pau Gasol will make his debut with the Lakers on Tuesday night at IZOD Center against the Nets. Super Giants Win The Nets got back home early Sunday morning from their two-game back-to-back road trip in Miami on Friday night and Atlanta on Saturday night. The team had plenty of time to get some rest and see the Giants win an improbable Super Bowl victory against the New England Patriots on Sunday night. “Great to see,” said Head Coach Lawrence Frank of the Giants win. “What a great story especially being in this area. Between what Coach (Tom) Coughlin has been through and no one has taken more abuse than Eli Manning. That was great, that was great to see.” Frank does not have a personal relationship with Coughlin but said that he knows him through Bill Parcells “and that coaching tree.” Next Up: Lakers The Nets split their recent two-game road trip, beating the Heat 94-85 and then dropping the game in Atlanta 104-92. Next up is a home match up with the Lakers on Tuesday night. In their last meeting in late November, the Nets won a great game in L.A. 102-100, capping a 3-1 West Coast Road Trip. At the time, it brought them back to .500 (7-7). The Lakers (30-16), however, have certainly changed. After the bad news that New Jersey native and Lakers’ emerging center Andrew Bynum would be out for a sustained period of time (left knee), the Lakers, on Friday, went out and picked up 27 year-old Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies. Through seven seasons, the seven-foot forward/center has averaged 18.8 points on 50.9 percent shooting, 8.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.8 blocks. Gasol was an all-star in 2006 and was rookie of the year in 2001-02. He did not play in the Lakers’ 103-91 win on Sunday in Washington but they looked pretty good without him. “That game yesterday (Sunday), they were unbelievable,” noted Frank. “They shot 60 percent for the better part of that game. Kobe got 19 in that first quarter. Once they lost Bynum (to the knee injury), that trade I think kind of picked up their spirits and they’re moving the ball so well, Kobe is playing lights out on both ends. Yesterday, (Ronny) Turiaf was so good. (Lamar) Odom. They have so many good facilitators and they have such good shooting. I mean they are averaging 107 and now you throw Pau into the mix. It’s going to make them better obviously but in terms of preparation, there’s no difference. You just have to prepare for a team that’s playing at a very high level.” Frank noted that Gasol should fit in, as he “is an outstanding passer, especially from the high post. When he first came into the league, he was able to make a lot of plays off the elbow. And with interchangeable parts, they have a chance to be really good. You have to give them a lot of credit for the move they made.” Nenad Update Nenad Krstic made his return to the court - for the second time this season - on Saturday night in Atlanta. He had just a three-minute cameo. Other than the minutes, he did not make a dent in the box score but it was his first real game action since November 21st as he comes back from last season's torn ACL and subsequent surgery. “We’re going to ease him back in,” said Frank of Krstic. “He still has a long, long ways to go. Even in practice. It’s not like he’s Nenad that was last year Nenad. So, this is training camp (for him) and everyone else has played 40 some odd games. So it’s going to be gradual.” “We’ll just see how he plays. The objective is to win the game so if he’s helping us, he’ll play. If he’s not playing well…It’s a tough situation; it’s no one’s fault but it is what it is.” Good-Bye Twin; Hello Stromile The news became official today: Jason Collins was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in return for the athletic Stromile Swift. “Twin”, as Collins was called, was the subject of many fans ire especially when things weren’t going well, but the team and coaches knew what he brought to the team in his six-plus seasons in New Jersey. “I talked to him a lot,” said Frank of Collins. “You guys heard it ad nauseum. There’s something about it if you look at the teams. We’ve been fortunate; we’ve been in the playoffs six years in a row. You look at San Antonio which is basically the gold standard in the league. Character counts and there’s not a more high-character guy than that guy. We don’t win the first round in Toronto without him so despite public opinion it really hurts because he’s such a bedrock of what we’ve done. He’s covered up for a lot of people’s sins now. And it’s just unfortunate with the way our team is at the present state where his strengths aren’t as highlighted as they should be but his teammates get it. Very few others do which is fine, which is really the trademark that shows how special he is. All the experiences he had here, we’re really going to miss him. He’s a special, special guy.” As for the player they are getting in return, “We’ve known Stromile a long, long time,” continued Frank. “I knew him since he was probably 16 years old when I was an assistant at Tennessee and he was in Louisiana playing AAU basketball. Like anything, when there’s a trade, you try to give guys a fresh start and you try to have an open mind. You try to give them an opportunity to make their mark and see if they want to redefine themselves, if they want to change, or if they want to continue. So, he’s going to get an opportunity and what he does with it is going to be up to him but I think you have to open your arms and think very optimistically and try to make it work. Look: we’re at 20-27. We’re looking for jolts to get us going and playing on a consistent level of good basketball and good habits. How long does it take him to assimilate? We’ll see. Potentially getting him and Curly, getting them back in the fold over time hopefully gives us a boost.” |
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