Hooped Up

So apparently, the ground breaking ceremony for the Atlantic Yards and the $3.5 billion Barclays Center in Brooklyn where the Nets will call home in 2012 doubled as temporary comedy club for rich up and coming laugh engineers on the NYC comedy scene. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Nets owner Jay Z and even New York Governor David Paterson used the event to test drive their new comedic material.

Jay Z definitely had the best timing with his jokes, Marty Markowitz was way too eager to do his Beyoncé routine and David Patterson was well — David Patterson-ish with his delivery as you’ll see. Read More »

New Jersey Nets aren’t focused on getting LeBron James’ attention, they just want to get wins
LeBron James and the Cavaliers come to East Rutherford tonight for the last time this season, but the Nets do not see this as a last chance to impress the impending free agent.

Devin Harris said the team cannot think beyond tonight.”We’re just trying to get a win,” Harris said. “We play them pretty well. We come out and play hard.”

The Nets (6-53) are struggling to find four more victories in their last 23 games to avoid the infamy of breaking the mark for fewest wins in a season, which is nine by the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers.

If putting up a fight is appealing to James, then the Nets have done a better job than the Knicks. The Nets’ worst loss to the Cavaliers this season was by 10 points, while the Knicks took a 31-point beating in Cleveland Monday night.

Tonight, however, the Nets will face a different challenge against the Cavaliers, with center Shaquille O’Neal out for six to eight weeks after thumb surgery.
NY Daily News

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Yes, of course the New Jersey Nets lost against the Miami Heat, but you shouldn’t be so negative. The glass is half full of Brook Lopez dunking on Joel Anthony, not half empty my friend.

At halftime of the Nets vs. Raptors game, before Toronto helped New Jersey toward becoming historically bad. Vanilla Ice, (yes that Vanilla Ice) ripped the music gods a new one by performing his hit song that will make him a cult icon long after the earth is overthrown by martians or Lady Gaga.

That’s halftime promotional gold Jerry, gold!

The New Jersey Nets are still on pace to finish with the worst record in NBA history and it will take a miracle for this group to not earn this dubious distinction. At least it hasn’t stopped them from throwing down jams like this one from Keyon Dooling to Brook Lopez to keep the 10 fans at the IZOD center happy.

Jolly good show gents!

I’m not a religious guy, but I swear I already read about this dunk in the PG-13 sports version of the Bible I bought from Hustle Man last week outside of Nipsey’s.

Tommy, Cole and I all agree that this dunk was very Cain and Abel-esque. So damn Gina, go tell it on the mountain that a defender has been served, hallelujah!!!

via You Got Dunked On

In a not so earth shattering deal, the Mavericks have acquired Eduardo Najera from the Nets in exchange for Kris Humphries and Mavs headache Shawne Williams from the Nets. Owner Mark Cuban will save about $4.7 million on this deal plus a ton of aspirin.

On the down side, getting traded to a team prime to break the record for the most losses in a season has gotta hurt. On the up side, now Kris Humphries and Shawne Williams will have unlimited access to DJ Pauly D for their house jams.

via Dallas Morning News

Okay, maybe the headline is a tad dramatic, but these bastards have lost 18 games in a row and they need a little positive reinforcement for finally bagging a win. After 38 days of racking up L’s, like a college freshman rack’s up Mom and Dad’s credit card bill.

The Nets beat the Charlotte Bobcats (ha-ha) 97-91 in front of 12,131 faithful fans at the IZOD Center. Notching their first win of the season –no seriously, they really won.

“Man, it’s a nice one to have off your back,” said Lopez, who dominated the Bobs for 31 points and 14 boards. “First win, now we have to string it together. It was definitely a great feeling in here.”

“It feels good. We brought great energy,” said Devin Harris, whose dive over three rows of seats in the final minute of the game illustrated that perfectly. “We didn’t play great at all times, but we fought through. They made a run, we didn’t fold.”

It’s good to see this group get a win because they actually compete every night. All they have to do know is win 9 more games to avoid finishing with the worst record in NBA history. Let’s see how this one plays out.

via NJ

The most famous Jamaican to play in the NBA and former New York Knicks legend Patrick Ewing says he would “love to coach the Nets”, who just axed Lawrence Frank. I’m still amazed that Ewing is an assistant coach because he doesn’t really say much, but with his experience this might be an idea worth tossing around if you’re the Nets brass.

In an interview with the New York Post after the Magic’s 112-104 win over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Sunday Ewing said that he hopes that New Jersey’s management will consider him for the coaching vacancy. Assistant coach Tom Barrise is filling in on an interim basis.

“I would be back home,” said Ewing, who has a home in Englewood, New Jersey. “I just want an opportunity. Yes, I would love to coach the Nets.”

Ewing has served as an assistant coach on both Jeff and Stan Van Gundy’s staff over the last seven years.

via Staten Island Advance

You know the NBA season is starting to careen out of control when a team wonders how it can get by without Yi Jianlian.

But the winless Nets were hit by yet another thunderbolt Tuesday when an MRI revealed a grade 1 sprain in the right knee of their starting power forward, which significantly shortens an already weak power rotation.

The team is not discussing any timetable for the third-year player, but a typical recovery period for such an injury is two to four weeks, and it has been known to last as long as six.

NJ.com