NEW ORLEANS – The world is falling down around the Nets. The season is virtually in flames and they are fiddling away, somehow trying to convince themselves they’ll get this right.
Maybe they will. But it’s not going to be this season. It’s time to start the “Wait ‘Til Next Year!” chants, like in the good ol’ days of the franchise.
“Of course you’re concerned any time you lose. But what are you going to do?” Lawrence Frank said. “The alternative [quitting] we’d never accept. We have to keep on going.”
Last night here against the Hornets and former coach Byron Scott, the Nets (26-35) sought to shake their latest funk: three straight defeats and five losses in eight games since the All-Star break.
There were 21 games left for the Nets, who go to Miami and Orlando this weekend to close out this road trip – and isn’t that a pleasant thought. At home in the Meadowlands last week, the Nets lost to Miami by 16 (and that was one of their better games) then lost to Orlando by 24 (that wasn’t).
“We have a sense of urgency,” said Vince Carter, who was expected to play here despite a bruised right finger/hand suffered in a 90-74 loss at San Antonio on Tuesday. “At the same time, I’m not going worry myself that we’re going to go out there and play bad or play worse than what we’re playing. Our effort is there still. We have to keep fighting, keep playing. We’re in a little slump right now.”
A little slump? That’s like saying Titanic’s maiden voyage could have gone a little better.
“It’s not the end of the world where we can’t get out of it. It’s not like that,” Carter continued, putting his bravest, most optimistic face forward. “I just think we have to take our time, go play basketball, stop worrying about how much time we have left and worry about what’s going on right now.”
There’s not much time, considering the Nets were a half-game ahead of Toronto for occupancy of the Atlantic Division cellar, 5½ games behind division-leading Boston, 4½ games behind current Eastern eighth-place resident Indiana. In losing to the Spurs, the Nets fell behind the Knicks in the Atlantic and were three games behind Philadelphia. So to get the eighth seed, the Nets need to overtake three teams.
That’s kind of hard to do when you lose a lot. The Hornets (13-46) seemed like a good opportunity for the Nets to try to get back on track.
“Must win? I hate to put a must on things, but we’d like to win,” said Jason Kidd, who waved off suggestions the Nets should commend their effort in San Antonio. “It doesn’t matter, we lost. Effort, no effort, we still lose. You don’t want to become accustomed to losing. It’s hard on the road enough, so no matter if you give effort or not, you have to understand at the end of the day it’s about winning. We have to find a way to win on the road. . . . I don’t think we’re accustomed [to losing].
“We just have to understand it’s not always about effort. You got to want to win. I think everyone in this locker room wants to win, it’s just a matter of paying the price.”
