After the first two months of the season it looked like the Brooklyn Nets who are in their first season in the borough opposite of Manhattan and the archrival New York Knicks they looked like a true contender. In the month of December they have come back down to earth in a major way going back to even in the win and loss column. With their season in a major downturn, the team decided to make a major change.
That changed came on Dec. 27 2012 was relieving coach Avery Johnson of his duties as the team’s head coach.
To put this firing in perspective, the Nets (16-14) had their best start in franchise history going 11-4 in the months of October and November. In those first 15 games, the team averaged 95.7 ppg and giving up just 90.4 points per contest, surrendering just 32.1 percent from three-point range and committing just 13.4 turnovers a game. Johnson was named the National Basketball Association’s (NBA‘s) Eastern Conference Coach of the Month.
In the month of December, the Nets lost 10 of their first 13 games, which included a five-game losing streak from Dec. 1-Dec. 11. The last straw was when they lost on national television on Christmas Day versus the Boston Celtics (14-14) 93-76 and they followed that up with 108-93 at the Milwaukee Bucks, which was their 13th straight loss to the team from Wisconsin.
The Nets in December averaged just 93.1 points per contest and giving up 98.9 ppg, 40.4 percent shooting from three-point land and committing 15.2 turnovers per game.
“Being a head coach is not always fair. I think its kind of like the fine print,” Johnson, who went 60-116 in his nearly three years with the Nets said on Thursday to the media. In his three and a half seasons on the sidelines with the Dallas Mavericks, Johnson went 194-70 winning NBA Coach of the Year award in 2005-06.
“Your not gonna always get a fair shake and since we don’t own the teams we coach, I’m not coach, president and owner. If I was owning the team, I wouldn’t have gotten fired today. I wouldn’t have fired myself.”
The team will be coached now on an interim basis by assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo, whose has coached in the NBA at the Portland Trail Blazers (1994-97), Golden State Warriors (1997-00) and Seattle Supersonics (2007-08), who moved to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder in 2008-09. In between that time he was an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs from 2002-2007. In 2010 he was an assistant coach under head man Jay Triano and the Toronto Raptors. On December 8, 2011 he was hired to be an assistant with the then New Jersey Nets.
The last time that Carlesimo was the head man on the sideline when he was with the Thunder and was let go after a 1-12 beginning to the season.
The last true moment that we remember from Carlesimo’s coaching career was back in 1997 while with the Warriors. It was during practice when then shooting guard Latrell Sprewell chocked Carlesimo for close to 15 seconds until he was separated by several teammates.
The team terminated Sprewell’s contract, which had three years and $23.7 million dollars remaining and the NBA suspended him for one year. The suspension was reduced to 68 games by an arbitrator.
“Obviously it’s the worst way to become a head coach,” said Carlesimo, who owns an NBA coaching record of 204-296 in the regular season and 3-9 mark in the postseason.
“It’s clearly not an ideal situation, but it’s the way of the NBA.”
As far as his message to the players Carlesimo said, “We need to play hard.”
He followed that up by saying, “I thought the mood was very good [at shoot around]. I thought they tried to (a) move on, and (b) do a good job.”
It has not helped the Nets cause that they have had a hard time putting the ball in the hope this season as they have scored an average of just 94.5 ppg (22nd NBA) and 20.5 assist per contest (22nd NBA).
On top of that the backcourt, which the Nets had hoped this season would led them to greatness this season have not lived up to the hype.
Lead guard Deron Williams, who the Nets signed to a big-time contract this off-season is scoring just 16.6 ppg, his lowest since his second season in the league and a career-lows from the field 39.8 percent and 29.5 percent from three-point range.
Shooting guard Joe Johnson has an up and down season himself as he is shooting just 42.1 percent from the floor, his lowest since his second season with the Phoenix Suns and is averaging just 16.9 ppg, his lowest since the 2003-04 season.
“I didn’t expect it. I was over there riding the bike when Billy[King] came in and told me. It caught me off guard,” Williams, who earlier in the month said that Johnson system was not working, said on Friday.
“He was just coach of the month. We did struggle the last 13 games or so, but I felt like we had a great team and a great head coach.”
Williams also said that he does not feel responsible for Johnson being fired, but he does wish that he played a whole lot better.
“Nobody feels worse about the way I’ve been playing than me. It just hasn’t clicked yet. My confidence is gone right now, and I gotta play my way, fight my way out of it.”
In the first two games under Carlesimo, the Nets have shown signs of progress beating the Charlotte Bobcats (8-23) 97-81 on Dec. 28 and squeaking by the Cleveland Cavaliers (7-25) on Dec. 29.
They came back down to Earth on New Year’s Eve when they were lambasted at the San Antonio Spurs losing 104-73, scoring just five points on 2 for 20 shooting in the third quarter to drop their 11th in a row to the Spurs in their building.
They bounced back in a big way when they beat the Oklahoma City Thunder on their home court 110-93.
Johnson led the way with 33 points going 11 for 19 from floor, including going 5 for 10 from three-point range. Lopez had 25 points on 11 for 17 from the field. Williams had 19 points 13 assists and five steals.
While Carlesimo may have the job on an interim basis, there was also speculation that the Nets will reach out to 11-time champion head coach Phil Jackson to see if he is interested in the head coaching position.
According to NBA on TNT/NBA TV Insider David Aldridge, Jackson is not interested “at this time.” Sources do say according to ESPN Los Angeles.com’s Ramona Shelbourne that Jackson would entertain the idea if the Nets called him.
Regardless if Jackson does decide to coach or they go with Carlesimo for the remainder of the season, this is on the players. The good thing about all of this is the Nets have a talented team that if they get it together can still make this a special season.
It however comes down to them. There is no more room for excuses, especially when the starting five of Williams ($17.2 million), Johnson ($19.7 million), Gerald Wallace ($9.7 million), Kris Humphries ($12 million) and Lopez ($13.7 million) is making the kind of money it is and the salary cap for the Nets is tops in the league for the 2012-13 campaign of $58 million.
The Nets have gone 12-3 under Carlesimo so far and sit in the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race and are just a half game behind the Chicago Bulls and one game behind the division and borough rival New York Knicks who are in second place.
If this inaugural season is going to be as special as the Nets want it to be, it comes down to this talented squad continuing buckle down and keep winning at the clip they did back in November.
Information, statistics and quotes are courtesy of 12/27/12 9:45 p.m. ESPN Bottom Line news wire reports during the Bridgeport Education Holiday Bowl between Baylor and UCLA; 12/27/12 7:15 a.m. edition of TNT’s Inside the NBA with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal; 12/31/12 8 p.m. edition of NBA TV’s “The Beat” with Vince Cellini, David Aldridge, Sekou Smith and Howard Beck of The New York Times Article by Mike Mazzeo of ESPN NewYork.com, “P.J. Carlesimo To Take Things Slow;” www.espn.go.com; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avery_Johnson; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._J._Carlesimo; www.espn.go.com/nba/standings;www.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?id=400278192.
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