Nets Team Report

GETTING INSIDE

Help is coming. Probably 10 games too late, but it’s coming.

Or so the Nets think. And hope.

Still winless after 12 games in easily the worst start in their NBA franchise history, the Nets hope to get Devin Harris(notes) back on Saturday when they face the Knicks in an afternoon affair, the last game before their annual trek out West for Thanksgiving week.

Harris played two games and then shut it down because of a strained right groin. He has been working with the team and if all goes well at a Friday practice, hopes to play Saturday.

“My legs aren’t where I would want them to be. Fatigue, I can fight through,” Harris said, claiming the groin “feels fine. No pain. There’s some tightness and soreness. That’s normal because I haven’t been able to do anything the last two weeks. Things I can overcome just getting out on the floor.”

The Nets, of course, truly will welcome any sort of help. They have been woefully shorthanded with up to seven players out. And with 15 guaranteed contracts, there is no outside help coming to a franchise that is wallowing in financial losses.

“The great eight,” coach Lawrence Frank deadpanned about his squad that for the most part has played hard. “We’ve got s prideful group of guys that take a great deal of pride in leaving it all out there and trying to give us the best chance to win. It is what it is. We have eight guys. We have a bunch of injuries. We have guys on the mend. At the same time, I have a deep level of respect for the guys who are busting their chops.”

And they’ll have to do it against the Knicks who, despite a 2-9 record, always provide matchup fits for the Nets. The Knicks beat the Nets three times in preseason in games both sides appeared determined to try to win.

Bucks 99, Nets 85:   Again, eight bodies. Again, a defeat, making the streak 12 straight. The Nets for a second straight night were overwhelmed at the start of the third quarter as Milwaukee scored the first 15 points after halftime to erase the Nets’ 48-41 halftime lead. And with the Nets’ lack of firepower, any deficit is critical.

For a second straight night, the Nets had two players notch 20-10 type double doubles, to no avail. This time, Chris Douglas-Roberts(notes) had 31 points and 10 rebounds while rookie Terrence Williams(notes) had 20 points and 10 rebounds.

NOTES, QUOTES

• With 12 defeats and counting, talk of the worst start to a season ever in NBA history is surfacing more and more frequently around the Nets. The 1988-89 Miami Heat lost the first 17 games of their inaugural season, and the Clippers lost their first 17 games in the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season.

“I don’t even focus on 0-17. For us, we just take it one game at a time,” said coach Lawrence Frank.

• The third quarter has been dismal to the Nets all season. They’ve surrendered 44 points in one third quarter, scored seven in another. On Tuesday, they had reduced a 16-point deficit to eight at halftime and then were shredded by Indiana for the first nine points of the third. Wednesday in Milwaukee, a 48-41 halftime lead quickly evaporated as the Bucks went on a 15-0 streak to start the second half.

“It’s frustrating for everybody in this locker room. You can say it all day. You can say everything. You can stay positive. But you have to perform,” said Chris Douglas-Roberts. “You have to do it on the floor. Talking really means nothing in this game. You have to perform and execute.

“They came out like a team that’s playing well is supposed to come out.”

Quote To Note:   “We looked for ‘Bango the Buck’ to see if he wanted to wear a Nets uniform.”—Coach Lawrence Frank, referring to Milwaukee’s mascot. The Nets played with just eight available players for the fifth time in six games.

ROSTER REPORT

The lineup has been changing game-to-game, based on availability of players and matchups. The most recent:

Rotation:   Starters—Point guard Rafer Alston(notes), Shooting guard Trenton Hassell(notes), Small forward Chris Douglas-Roberts, Power forward Josh Boone(notes), Center Brook Lopez(notes). Bench—Forward/Guard Terrence Williams, Forward Bobby Simmons(notes), Center Sean Williams(notes).

Player Notes:  

• F Chris Douglas-Roberts posted his second straight double-double in as many night, registered a second straight career high in points. But Douglas-Roberts downplayed his 31 points and 10 rebounds because the Nets remained winless in 12 games.

“We lost. That’s the only thing that means anything to me—wins and losses,” Douglas-Roberts said.

• G Terrence Williams posted his fourth double-double of the season, collecting a personal best 20 points plus 10 rebounds in the 99-85 defeat at Milwaukee.

“I thought he had a great will about him and really controlled the game,” coach Lawrence Frank said of Williams, who exploited smaller defenders.

• C Brook Lopez was benched for the entire second quarter after being outplayed by Milwaukee’s Andrew Bogut(notes) and because a Nets’ small second unit provided a terrific energy lift. Lopez was re-inserted for the third quarter, but still struggled. Coach Lawrence Frank explained that he went back to his starters hoping they would follow the reserves’ lead. Didn’t happen. The Nets led by 7 points at halftime but trailed by 9 after three quarters.

Medical Watch:  

• F Eduardo Najera(notes) has missed two games with a sore lower back. He is day-to-day.

• G Courtney Lee(notes) remains day-to-day with a strained groin. He missed his sixth straight game Wednesday.

• F Yi Jianlian(notes) is out with a sprained right knee. He is expected to miss up to another month.

• G Devin Harris could return on Saturday from a right groin strain. He has only played two games.

• F Jarvis Hayes(notes) remains sidelined since straining his hamstring in the season opener. He is doing shooting but is out indefinitely.

• G Keyon Dooling(notes) (hip surgery rehab) underwent an arthroscopic procedure after last season. He is working his way back and has targeted Thanksgiving week for his return.

• F/C Tony Battie(notes) has been fitted for a brace on his right knee after receiving a second opinion. There is no timetable for a return. He has been out since preseason.