Sports Frog

Being a .500 team is not a bad accomplishment when you get nothing from your inside players. Okay, that wasn't fair to Mikki Moore, but since he parlayed 55 starts of 11.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game into a multi-year guaranteed contract with the Kings, he's too busy buying larger aquariums for his snakes to worry about it. Most importantly for the Nets, top scorer Vince Carter re-upped and second-leading scorer Nenad Krstic is back from his knee injury. It's true. Krstic averaged 16.4 points per game in 26 contests, nosing out the other oft-injured Net, Richard Jefferson for that honor. Jefferson has missed 80 games in the last three years and may end going down in history as a poor man's Grant Hill, or at least what Grant Hill was.

You have to give credit to the Nets, though. Lawrence Frank was able to steer a team with what would generously be described as a "journeyman" frontcourt into the second round of the playoffs. While the Nets stack up favorably to almost all teams in the NBA at the perimeter spots, the post spots were so undermanned last year that getting that far was a true accomplishment.

The Nets start with their point guard, Jason Kidd. In spite of his two banged-up teammates, it is Kidd whose health is tantamount to the Nets' success. Kidd is a top-five all-time point guard and the engine that makes the team go, but there has to be some concern about if his summer action with the US National Team means he's going to be a little run down this year.

Carter is the other half of the All-Star backcourt, matching Kidd with seven midseason exhibition appearances. Carter turned in perhaps the best year of his career in 2006-07, setting personal bests in rebounds and assists while topping 25 points per game for the first time in six seasons.

These two are backed up by second year point Marcus Williams and Bostjan Nachbar. The Nets really need Williams to develop coming into his second season, as it is in the Nets' best interest to be able to get Kidd down to around 34 minutes per game. It looks like Williams is taking this seriously, having dropped weight over the summer and looking like the best player at Nets' offseason workouts (of course, the veteran players are not there, so feel free to decide for yourself how big the accompanying grain of salt should be). Of course, this also needs to be tempered by Williams' broken foot, which he suffered in late Spetember and required surgery. The sophomore point guard is expected to shelved for six weeks, which means the first couple weeks of the season. As a result, Darrell Armstrong was signed after camp opened and will likely have the backup point role until Williams is ready to go.

Nachbar should back up Carter and Jefferson, possibly sliding RJ to the two when Vince needs a rest and, more importantly, giving them some much needed outside shooting. It seems that being trusted with minutes benefits Nachbar greatly. In his previous cups of coffee with Houston and New Orleans, Nachbar shot 37.4 percent from the field and 35.9 percent from downtown, but when given serious minutes last year, Nachbar turned in percentages of 45.7 percent overall and 42.3 percent from beyond the arc. He also made 112 threes last year, which is seven fewer than in his first four years combined.

The frontcourt is similar to the backcourt in that there are two big guns and not much else. If Jefferson and Krstic stay healthy all year, the Nets will be a tough opponent every night. However, when the Nets are down to three or only two of their top players, they can't outscore their foes and, let's face it, they don't lay enough lumber to succeed in grindhouse affairs.

Jefferson is an excellent finisher at the rim and stays within his trusted shooting range, as evidenced by his higher shooting percentages when he is healthy. When Jefferson's body is well, he gets to the racks and finishes effectively, but when banged up, it's not quite there.

Krstic needs a full recovery from his torn ACL, which almost submarined the Nets' hopes last season. Most aspects of Krstic's game are soft, ranging from his shooting touch to his rebounding and shotblocking.

Offseason acquisition Jamaal Magloire is on the best possible contract for the Nets, one year in length, so he should provide some insurance for Krstic, especially if the Serbian center is not ready to go out of the gate. A former All-Star (who scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds in that appearance!), Magloire turns 30 next May and a good performance for the Nets would give Magloire a chance at one more multi-year deal to secure his future. Even if he makes the starting lineup due to injury to Krstic (or if Frank decides to move Krstic to the four), he won't average a double-double, like in 2003-2004, but a good showing in 20 minutes a night for a player with Magloire's resume would mean a very nice contract. He's got a lot to play for, like four years and $25-30 million.

Jason Collins will start at power forward and be backed by the young Josh Boone and younger Sean Williams. All three have the same jobs - rebound, defend, block shots, and stay out of the way on offense.

Don't be foolish enough to hand the division title over to the Celtics just yet. When everyone is healthy, the Nets sport the top starting lineup in the Atlantic, even with Jason Collins as part of it, and have some decent depth behind them. Mix in the division's top coach in gym rat Lawrence Frank and the Nets certainly look like contenders for the Atlantic crown if they can stay healthy, which is a huge question, considering "Jersey Girl" is the only one to play in all 82 games last year. If not, at least Frank has practice at adjusting on the fly.