With Wednesday’s game against the Sixers and their athletic wings approaching after a three-day layoff, the Nets’ were hoping that Chris Douglas-Roberts and Courtney Lee could recover enough to add two more to the eight-man tally of healthy bodies. But Douglas-Roberts (H1N1 virus) didn’t leave his house, and Lee practiced only until his strained left groin tightened midway through.
While Douglas-Roberts is a confirmed scratch, neither Lee or Coach Lawrence Frank would rule out the possibility of Lee’s return. A visit to a specialist confirmed that the strain was minor, and would heal with a few days rest, but tomorrow’s game seems unlikely, given the training staff’s propensity to make sure players are healthy and then wait a day.
“It definitely sucks, as a feeling,” Lee said. “We’re down, the guys are definitely playing hard, you could see they’re definitely getting tired and they need the bodies to give them rest, too. I’m just not capable of being out there with them.”
That line holds true for seven Nets, among them Devin Harris, who looked to be enjoying himself while participating in shooting contests at the end of Tuesday’s practice. Going “around-the-world” (and back) marked the first non-standstill shooting Harris had done since straining his right groin against the Magic.
Harris also did some straight-ahead running, and will gradually progress to testing his lateral movement. He’s aiming for the end of the week, which would allow him a few practices to ready himself for next Wednesday’s game in his hometown of Milwaukee. But he’s waiting to be cleared by athletic trainer Tim Walsh, whom Harris jokingly admitted can be scary.
So with the same eight healthy players again in line for major minutes, the Nets host a Sixers team that has lost two straight games since beating them 97-94 in Philly on Friday. Andre Iguodala has been averaging 20.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.1 steals while being supported by a rotating cast that features nine players averaging at least 14 minutes.
“We’re familiar with how they play and their personnel,” Frank said. “They’re at their best in transition, especially Iguodala, who rebounds the ball – he can bust out. Between (Lou) Williams, Iguodala and (Thaddeus) Young, they’re outstanding in transition. I think 17 of their first 19 buckets (on Saturday) were in the paint, so we have to do a great job of protecting the paint. We have to try limit their free-throw attempts. Their bench has been great … and brings a lot of energy to them.”
Frank wouldn’t offer a starting lineup, but it’s likely he’ll go with Rafer Alston, Trenton Hassell, Bobby Simmons, Josh Boone and Brook Lopez – the same group that pushed Boston until the final minutes on Saturday. Rookie Terrence Williams will back up all three wing positions, and might see time in the frontcourt, as he did against Philly during the preseason.
Williams is still anticipating the first win of his career, having begun a boyocott of Twitter (@TheRealTWill) since November 3rd, claiming that he won’t post any updates until the Nets have added a ‘W.’
Coming off two hard-fought losses to the Sixers and Celtics, Williams is feeling ever closer.
“We’re still playing our hardest against teams,” Williams said. “I definitely feel like tomorrow’s going to be a good chance to get that win, (as is) this weekend (and) every game we go into.”
Bobby Will Be Back
A scare for a second-consecutive day: Bobby Simmons was nowhere in sight. But the veteran forward is scheduled to return tonight after traveling to his native Chicago for personal reasons. Coach Frank said he’s counting on him for tomorrow’s game.
T-Will Times Seven
Due to injuries, T-Will has been called into variety duty from the jump, playing all five positions while averaging 10.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 27.4 minutes per game. So what’s his coach think he’s doing differently with seven games experience?
“He’s attacking the paint better, which is very, very important because that’s how he can maximize his passing ability,” Frank said. “If you’re a threat to score now, you force people to help. Once you force people to help, now do you get it? Defensively, he’s shown in stretches what he’s capable of. We’re going to continue to need him and everyone else to do it on an every-possession basis. I like his makeup. He’s very thirsty to learn. He’s a very competitive guy. You like all those characteristics.”
Practical Practices
Without enough players to run full 5-on-5 at any point during practice for more than a week, Coach Frank has had to improvise best he can.
“It’s an art form now,” Frank said. “We’re going to patent it and we’re going to put it on video. The reality is a lot of basketball is done in breakdown drills (via) the part-whole method. All the things – offense and defense – you do, you just break it down 4-on-4, 3-on-3 and so it gives you more space on the court. We’re just honing in on things. We would be doing that regardless of how many bodies. Where it limits you is the length of the practice because the number of reps because of what you got in terms of what guys have, in terms of how far you can push them."
