Joe: Da man. As he goes, so will the team. Only player to give his all every game last season. Plays a great defense, has great court vision. Not afraid to drive inside and establish contact, which is what makes him so effective. Will also play more shooting guard this year, with the injuries in the backcourt. Must guard against trying to do too much, especially with Van Horn, Kittles, Harris and Feick on the sidelines to begin the season. Also needs to cut down the turnovers to keep this team in games.
Champagne: There’ve been some long stretches in the past two sad seasons where Marbury has been the only reason to keep watching.
Keith Van Horn – F
Joe: Has outstanding offensive game. When he’s on, he’s unstoppable. Can bury the three, drive inside, or score off the missed shot. Has a serious problem defensively; having Kenyon Martin around should help. Also gets the ball stolen often when he tries to put in on the floor and drive to the hoop. His game seemed to regress last year, blamed it on Casey’s system. Must improve, cut down the turnovers and have a monster year for Nets to make playoffs and reward the Nets’ faith in him.
Champagne: When he gets back from his broken leg, I’d like to see him keep his big floppy feet inbounds.
Kenyon Martin – F
Joe: First pick of the 2000 NBA draft. Comes with glowing credentials. Already an NBA caliber defensive player, has more of an offensive game than most people realize. Active shot blocker and rebounder. Should work effectively with Van Horn, allowing Van Horn some protection on defense while learning the offensive game from Van Horn. Can defend either forward spot. Needs to guard against the inevitable rookie “wall” that comes from playing the much longer NBA season. If he stays healthy, he’ll be a 15 points – 10 rebounds per game player for years to come. The future of the franchise, along with Marbury and Van Horn.
Champagne: Those preseason double-doubles bode well.
Kendall Gill – G
Joe: A true guard playing out of position the last few years, he returns to the shooting guard spot this year with Kittles being gone for most if not all of the season. Has shown he remembers how to shoot from the outside in preseason, and having Byron Scott as coach will help him as well. Excellent defensive player for his size, with quick hands and anticipation, he should fare even better against players his size. If he doesn’t shoot well, then the Nets will be sorely lacking an outside game and will suffer through a rough season.
Champagne: I never used to like Gill. He made me uneasy. He seemed like the kind of guy who would put glitter on his face to make you pay attention to him. I once saw rush back to his position in a panic, coming out of a timeout in the Garden, because he’d been too busy slapping hands with some Hollywood bozo at courtside. Maybe the Nets are toying with his vanity to sell him on this new defensive image as the “Man of Steal.” Whatever’s happening, it’s working. It would have done this team serious damage if Gill had jumped to the Lakers for an easy ring. And I don’t care why he stayed: for the money, because he couldn’t have handled being hated for leaving, or just to bask in our gratitude.
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