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Nets Drop Summer League Opener By Matt McQueeny, NJNets.com
Orlando, Fl. – The Nets lost to the Orlando Magic 85-74 in what was the first Orlando Summer League contest for each team. With Vince Carter on hand– sitting in the second row of the Nets bench as the lead cheerleader, along with Antoine Wright– it was all second-year players who came up the biggest. J.J. Redick of the Magic led all scorers, with 30 points, including 4-of-6 from three-point land and 12-for-12 from the line. For the Nets, Marcus Williams had 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists; Hassan Adams had 11 points, 10 rebounds, three steals, and three assists; and Robert Hite had 16 points, including 4-of-5 from three. Nets first-round pick Sean Williams – who hadn’t played in a game since mid-January, with Boston College- had his struggles. He did swat three blocks, showing his impressive length around the hoop, but scored just two points and grabbed one rebound in 22:31. He also ran into some foul trouble, amassing eight. (Note: In Summer League rules, a player does not get disqualified after six fouls. For each foul assessed that goes above six, a technical foul is called and the other team shoots two free-throws and gets the ball.) After the game, Williams twice said that he will have to work at rebounding the ball this week. Head Coach Lawrence Frank said it’s hard to assess Sean’s play just yet, especially with this being his first real game action in over six months. “It’s a long evaluation period,” said the Coach. “This is just the way beginning of laying a foundation and it’s going to be a long process.” The first half finished in a 43-43 tie and included eight lead changes and five ties. Neither team held a biggest lead above five in either direction. Robert Hite scored 11 in the second quarter. The third quarter saw nine lead changes as the Nets carried a one-point advantage (59-58) into the fourth. But for the first nearly seven minutes of the final quarter the Nets did not score a point. The Magic went on a 12-0 run during that time. Marcus Williams, taking the initiative to pick the team up, scored the next nine Net points. He scored 11 of his team-high 19 in the final quarter. “I think the first half I kind of started off slow, trying to get guys the ball,” said Marcus. “I kind of forced the play in the second half; in the fourth quarter I tried to take the initiative and get the ball to the rim and try to make plays.” The Nets cut it as close as five (77-72) with 1:35 to go, when Hassan Adams went 1-out-of-2 from the line, but got no closer. New Jersey will play Miami Tuesday at 3:00 pm in the first game of the daily Summer League Triple-Header. Vince in the House: As noted above, Vince Carter was on hand to cheer the Nets Summer League team on from the second row behind the bench. The team was also at his Orlando area home yesterday, where they ate lunch and held a Summer League team practice. |
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