Well...I made it. Survived the last round of finals ever. I had a lot to say re: the Nets, and I planned to do it immediately following my final Wednesday night, and then work on the take-home I had due Thursday and...well, I decided to get drunk instead. So here we are. The take-home got done, albeit in a horrifically hungover fashion, and I still have shit on my mind about these Nets of New Jersey on this lazy Friday night. So...let's do it.

Tuesday night's game. Everyone's read all the rebounding differentials and seen how many turnovers the Nets had and how they were hanging in there the whole game and blew it at the end and blahhhh. But I watched this game. And at no point did it look like the Nets were in over their heads. Do you know what the Nets looked like? They looked tired. That was it. By the end there, they just looked exhausted. And I'm not making any excuses or anything, but they did finish the Toronto series at like 11 Friday night and then have to start the next series in Cleveland at 1:00 Sunday afternoon. The players in the league will always tell you how those early games are tough to get going in to begin with...this just seemed a liiiiiittle unfair. But, no excuses. I'm just saying, they DID look tired. They didn't play BADLY. It was just really sloppy, exhaustion-laden-looking play. And it sounds likeI'm not too far off.

Is it just me, or does RJ have the capability of becoming a walking sound bite?  I always used to complain that he talked too much and said way too much stupid shit, but he could turn this into a somewhat enjoyable shtick, no?

Then there's this:

I think that if you're coming out on Saturday or Monday to support the Nets, you should take a little offense to how everyone talks about the lack of energy in the building. You should take some offense to that. I respect everyone that comes out to the games here. Personally, I think our crowd is great. I think our crowd participates extremely well. I think that's why we have such a good home record.

Richard, I love you, and I know the crowd gets into it when it's supposed to, but you and I both know the energy just feels a little...hollow. I'm not sure what it is. It might be the fact that the majority of the crowd noise is kids. Or those horrific Thunder Stix. But the weird thing is, it's not that the arena is empty, because it feels that way even in sell-outs. It has to be the construction of the arena, or something. I've said it a million times, the building is a nightmare, and walking through the concourses before, during and after games is worse than walking through Grand Central during rush hour. It's swimming upstream. The condiments section of the snack bar (no, not "Nachbar," I said "snack bar" and I meant it) is in the most inopportune location you could imagine. There are no packets and the pumps for ketchup and mustard are far apart from one another. It's also in the way of everyone trying to walk anywhere, mainly to their seats. The upper level is only accessible from the bottom, so you have to walk up a lot of steps if you're not near the front. And they are STEEP steps. Other than for the purpose of actually, you know, watching the game? It's a terrible arena. So is it so far fetched that the acoustics are all fucked up? Like the sound just sort of...stagnates? Anyway, that's my theory. Because I've been part of some very pumped up crowds in CAA. But the energy level always feels a little sapped.

The major problem here, of course, is the conversation I had with Mommy yesterday.

Mom: Daddy asked if I wanted to go to the game Saturday...I said no, because it is just going to be too depressing. Becky:...wait...what? Mom: Yeah, I dunno, I just don't see it going well. Becky:...WHAT??? Mom: Yeah. I just don't know. Becky: You are fucking wack.

If I were to cover the Nets, though, I think I would keep track of the amount of games when Carter goes to a limp. So far in this series it's 2.

Um...YEAH!!! That's what I've been saying ALL SEASON! Vince goes to a limp every. Single. Game. No joke here. I have literally seen him do it every single game. EVERY. GAME. He pulls the "Oh no, this is a SEASON ENDER!!!" routine, and then is back in the game playing fine after 5 minutes. It is truly maddening. In fact, I don't even want to waste the time looking for an old post on El Friends to prove it, because it pissed me off every time I had to write it about him to begin with. Instead, I'm just going to link tothe post that has 4 nasty Boki dunks, in the hopes he brings it down on someone's head tomorrow evening. Cuz check outwho made the list. :) Some good news? Yes, indeed!HOUSE!And yes, I have been an Eddie House apologist long before readingSeven Seconds. Only partially due to his high scoring outbursts in college; also partially due toan inside joke(anecdote about halfway down).

Ugh, and even though I swore I wouldn't rehash, look what else was in that post:

At this point, I am fairly certain when Vince drives the lane, he never has the intention of trying to take a shot in the first place. He kind of just careens wildly and hopes someone fouls him.

This team makes my head hurt. OK, so...they are down. However, I do not believe they are out. Because it's not a series until somebody wins a road game, right?

So...what's the difference here?

*sigh*

It's Vince. It's ALWAYS Vince. On paper, he should make this team one of the best and talented in the league. But...well, I think it's finally time to pose a question here that I have been jokingly positing for the past couple months:

Is Vince the A-Rod of the NBA? Or is A-Rod the Vince of MLB?

The most diehard Yankees fans I know (that are also intelligent and not the stereotypical "asshole" Yankees fans) are certain that the Yankees won't win another championship until A-Rod leaves the team. And then they'll win as soon as he's gone.

And the Nets DO seem to play better with Vince on the bench. My mother is convinced he is slowing them down to the point that they could play almost like a Golden State without him. I personally don't think they have that type of speed or talent, but who knows?

All I know is, he drives me crazy and makes me do things like slap my forehead and yell at the television.

But I truly AM tired of talking about Vince. This team is NOT about Vince. It's about JKidd (watch for a monster game from him now that he's had a few days rest); it's about RJ (he needs to STOP TAKING THREES and stop trying to play like a 2 and start playing with a little more aggression because he is definitely the x-factor in this series); it's about Twin (why are people surprised he sucks at rebounding? I've maintained for years that he only grabs boards when the ball bounces directly into his hands and his only contribution is boxing out so other dudes can grab them); it's about Boki (he'll find his shot and also go hard to the hoop here and there, he's just inexperienced and I think a little nervous...it's adorable...HE'S adorable); it's about Antoine Wright (did a decent job guarding LBJ and apparently is the best option...I'm sorry, but JKidd on LBJ for the majority of the game is a poor defensive scheme); it's about Mikki (he needs to stay out of foul trouble and be a bit beastier with those 'bows); it's about Nenad (how much different would this series be with him playing?); it's about Marcus and Boone (learn as you go, I guess...rookie mistakes aside, they've been a nice addition); and it's about Larry. I believe Frank can pull his head out of his ass long enough to figure out how to get this team clicking the right way. He just needs to learn how to stand up to Vince and say, "No, they HAVEN'T all been good shots." I'm not sure how possible it is. I'm tired of bitching about it, it's been ALL SEASON.

So. Here we go. Your money where your mouth is- BRING IT.