From Dave D'Alessandro's latest mailbag:
Dave: Vince at Toronto would be a zoo. He can't possibly want that matchup, could he? Brian G.
Bri: You have no idea. A bunch of guys said yesterday that is precisely what he wants (Antoine: "He's up for it. I don't think there's any doubt about it. He wants it"), and you'll read more about it on the print side tomorrow. The question, of course, is this: How's he going to handle it? He's had two horrid games at the ACC this year (29 points total, on 9-for-32) after owning the joint in his previous visits. So after all the abuse he's taken there, if you're into karmic justice, you kind of hope that he walks into the place, remembers that he built it, and then proceeds to tear it apart. Say this much for him: He's been the best player in the NBA in the last few weeks, and the numbers (32.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 6.8 apg) show it.
Vince has played against Toronto 4 times this season. The averages don't really tell the story. 21.5 PPG 7.0 RPG 6.3 APG .437 FG% All pretty much hovering around his averages vs. other teams he plays 3 or 4 times per season. Where is the differential? He seems to have a slightly more difficult time shooting free throws against the Raps. So yes, I think that ACC crowd gets in his head a bit.
My mom swears he "sucks extra" against his former team. But I can think of a couple occasions over the past couple seasons where he brought his extra A+ game and looked out and out pumped to take on Toronto. And isn't that always the question: Which Vince are we gonna get? I don't think I need to explain to anyone how much of a crapshoot this is. And from the looks of it browsing around the old interwebs, Nets fans and overall NBA fans in general are equally frustrated and annoyed by the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde play of the once Half-Man-Half-Amazing star.
So this is it, Vince. Contract year or not, this is the postseason that defines you. I'm not saying you will be universally adored again. You can do all the charity you want, but people are always going to be turned off by the petulance you displayed at the end of your Raptors tenure. ... Or will they?
I mean...Kobe puts on a show and people barely remember he is an (alleged) rapist! At one point you were the greatest in-game dunker around. All "Wince-ing" aside, some of us still have faith in you. So show us more of this:
And less of what The Admittedly Hackneyed Sports Guy astutely points out could be a class taught by you: "How to Spend Entire Games Pretending to Drive But Settling for 20-foot Jumpers." This angers ALL. Stop it. Seriously, cut it out. I don't need my mom suffering a coronary from screaming at you.
Of course any of the "How will he handle playing against a team whose fanbase once idolized and now despises him?" conjecture is entirely moot if the Nets fall to the 7th seed and end up playing the Bulls or Cavs. Tonight's game (interestingly enough, against those very same Bulls) as well as a bunch of other games on this last night of the season, will determine the postseason fate of our heroic Jersey Boys. Stay tuned. I'm skipping class to watch the drama unfold.
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