Courtney Lee couldn't wait to talk. Before any reporter even finished a sentence, the words spilled out of him:
"The update is I’m feelin GOOD, man," Lee said. "This is the first time I went for real all the way through a workout, did everything game speed, didn’t feel nothing. And I was knocking down shots; you saw when we were doing the shooting thing afterwards, I’m (out there) setting records. I feel good, man. I feel good."
While the enthusiasm was admirable, it's tempered by the knowledge that Lee spent the majority of his practice time on an elliptical. He ran through a full pre-practice workout, and – as he said – was knocking down post-practice shots from every spot around the world while competing against the stopwatch and his Nets teammates. With a back-to-back tomorrow (vs. Indiana) and Wednesday (@ Milwaukee), it's likely Lee makes his return at home on Saturday against the Knicks.
And he might well be joined by Devin Harris, who participated fully for the first time since re-aggravating his strained groin in the season's second game. Harris conceded he felt a little tightness while going side-to-side, but sounded confident that it was soreness that he'd work that out with treatment. Ruling himself out for tomorrow's game, Harris floated Wednesday as a possibility (he's a Milwaukee native), but indicated the Knicks games was probably more realistic.
"It’s tough," said Harris, shaking his head and exhaling deeply. "I’ve talked to Rod (Thorn) and I’ve talked to Kiki (Vandeweghe) and the key thing is that me coming back and being reinjured doesn’t help the team. We’ll take the time and miss the games now so I’m 100 percent rather than coming back 70-80 percent with a chance to reinjure it."
That leaves nine eligible for the Pacers game tomorrow (Bobby Simmons has returned from Chicago, where he was attending to personal matters) and they'll take on a team that's won four straight games, most recently beating the Celtics at home, 113-104. Danny Granger led the way with a 29-point, 6-rebound, 4-assist, 3-steal performance, a stat-sheet-filling effort that hasn't been uncommon: Granger averages 24.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.1 blocks.
The reigning Most Improved Player has been supported by a surprisingly offensive Dahntay Jones, whose 16.4 PPG nearly triples his career average (5.4). Jones is one of several defensive-minded offensive additions that have enabled the 4-3 Pacers to post a top-10 mark in field-goal percentage allowed (.436, 8th) while ranking 11th in defensive efficiency (100.2 points per 100 possessions).
Also impressive has been Roy Hibbert's development during the early part of his second season. The center has posted point-rebound double-doubles in three of his last five games while averaging 2.4 blocks, good for fourth in the league (just ahead of Brook Lopez's 2.3).
"He’s changed his body over time," said Nets coach Lawrence Frank. "He’s always had the ability to block shots, and his mobility has increased. He gets opportunities because they space the floor well and have a lot of shooting. When you have a lot of shooting, bigs can really prosper on rolls to the rim."
SWAT's Shot for PT
Coach Frank allowed that Sean Williams' recent stretch of strong play, which culminated in 12 points, 4 rebounds and a block in 15 minutes against the Heat, merited a longer look.
"Sean, the last two games, has really earned himself some minutes, so we’ll continue to look at (playing him and Brook together). "
Frank's Feeling the Love
It's been a tough start, but Coach Frank remains encouraged by the day-to-day effort of his team:
"I love the spirit of our guys," he said. "Just to put it in perspective, I came out here an hour before practice, and every one of these baskets was full of guys working. I just really, really like the spirit and the fight. I know it may sound (crazy) – you’re 0-10, you know? But I tell ya, those signs up there (on the wall), where it says our culture – it ain’t window dressing. These guys are really working hard. They understand if we continue to work, we’ll break through. This group is a real pleasure to be around because they’re competitive, they play hard and they care. I really enjoy this group. No one enjoys being 0-10, but I enjoy the process."
