EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The official press release hit the wires on April 23rd announcing that Vince Carter underwent successful right arthroscopic ankle surgery. All the intimations of his playing almost an entire season with pain in that ankle were officially confirmed and it was finally known just what he was dealing with.
It was all the way back on November 10th – game number six of the season – and the Nets were 4-1 and looking to show the newly revamped Boston Celtics that they were here to compete in the Atlantic Division. In the third quarter, Carter converted on a dunk; unfortunately, upon landing his ankle turned on Paul Pierce’s foot at a truly awkward angle. He left and would not return.
New Jersey lost that game and the next five, all as Carter sat. He returned in Portland and helped the Nets stop the bleeding with a win on the second game of a four-game West Coast swing. They then won the final two games – marking one of their most successful West Coast trips ever - and Vince’s presence was a major factor. That ankle, however, would never fully recover the rest of the season.
Still, the 31 year-old guard finished the year with stat sheet-stuffing averages of 21.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.1 assists in 76 games. And, especially after the Jason Kidd trade was made in late February, he really stepped up into a greater leadership role, cemented by his insistence to finish out the season even as the Nets were eliminated from playoff contention.
No one would have blamed him for sitting it out and giving that ankle an early vacation – or better said, an early start on surgery - but Vince wanted to set an example.
“I needed to be out there and I didn’t want to miss any games. I missed that one game (in Detroit on April 4th) but I tried to lobby to play that one as well and it didn’t work out,” said Carter.
As for taking over as a leader, “it’s just a role that I chose to take,” he said. “I wanted to be a leader and a voice.”
Even as things did not go how the team wanted down the stretch of the season, Nets President Rod Thorn certainly noticed Carter’s contributions.
“I think if you look at – numbers sometimes lie – but if you look at his numbers from after the all-star break, there were two other players that had comparable or better numbers than he had: LeBron (James) and Kobe (Bryant),” said Thorn.
“Only Kobe and LeBron had better numbers than he had. His leadership was the best it has been since he’s been here. He always took a backseat to Jason (Kidd) when it came to those kinds of things. I think he considered it Jason’s team – which it was – and he took a backseat but his leadership qualities came to the fore. I can’t say enough about him; I think he played absolutely great from the time of the trade.”
Carter did all he could and acknowledges that the season could potentially have been different were it not for that turn of the ankle against the Celtics. But he will not let that be an excuse – and his play did not show it – for why this year went wrong.
“I hope it drives us all,” said Vince.
“I know for me personally this is not where I want to be and I think our team is better than what we showed this year. So hopefully we take this personally.”
<< Back to All Access News |
News 
