"A little bada-bing for the big fella too!" - Bill Raftery

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Western Swing Band
Joe was in town last Monday night, so he stopped by my pad to check out a couple NBA games on my satellite TV. We were anticipating a hot Hawks/Clippers game in LA: all that young blood, all that Western Clippers motion. What happens? The game is a herky-jerky horror. All perimeter game and it's slow, jumpers tossed with 5 seconds left on the clock, stupid fouls, and plenty of travelling calls. "This is like watching a Nets game last year!" Joe exclaimed, and it was.

Five Nets games so far this season, and start-to-finish four of 'em (the winners) have been exciting, uptempo contests with 'oop highlight after 'oop highlight. Ex-Laker Coach Scott and ex-Sun Jason Kidd have slipped a speedball into the plodding, D-grinding East. As Netsfans we now have one of the better seats in the NBA house. We're amazed.
- Champagne

November 8, 2001 - Nets 106, Sonics 94
Second City Television
On a night when my cable feed was fritzing out like the old Canadian comedic TV station from SCTV, another wacky Canuck, Todd "The Big Rig" MacCulloch was skipping & tripping all over the Sonics to the tune of 29 (career high) points and 10 boards in a 106 - 94 win. The Nets came up big at the end in this game, when Seattle finally started to put it all together and took a late lead. But the Kidd-led Nets made like the Farm Film Report and "blowed 'em up good"! Gary "The Glove" Payton and Rashard Lewis were strong for the Sonics, but our own version of Bob & Doug MacKenzie, T-Mac and KVH, were better.

Remember when it was a worthwhile struggle to stay up past 1 AM on Sunday morning to watch SCTV, because not only was it better than Saturday Night Live, but it might have been the best thing on TV? Well, that's how I'm starting to feel about Nets games. I can't wait for the next one to begin.

The Nets continue to play exciting, enjoyable basketball. I knew they would be a better team this season, but I had no inkling that a 4 -1 start, a team with composure, hustle and heart, and a late game back-breaking ability lurked within this bunch. Jason Kidd continues to astound, even after watching him play and knowing of his reputation. He's a winner, pure and simple. So are the Nets.

Random Thoughts
Technical Difficulties - As I mentioned above, the feed from my cable company (or for all I know, from Fox Sports and/or MSG) was severely impaired all night. The picture would break up, freeze or disappear throughout almost the entire game, and usually at a key highlight moment. Of course, if this were the old Nets, I would make an obvious comparison, or a crack about not really missing anything. But these are the new Nets, and I didn't want to miss any of it. Goddamned cable monopoly!

Strokin' Out - Will someone, anyone, please tell Kenyon Martin and Richard Jefferson to stop shooting from outside? I was actually embarrassed for both tonight, wondering out loud at one point if either one had any idea how bad they looked.

Aggressive Keith - Van Horn was Keith Van Clutch tonight. Played hard, rebounded, scored when needed and was ACTUALLY SPOTTED PLAYING SOME DEFENSE! Surely this is some sort of sign, right?

"Are You Kidd'n?" Play of the Game - End of the first half, Martin steals, races downcourt, passes off to Kidd, who proceeds to lob a beautiful oop to Martin for the slam with 0.1 second left. A work of art.

What Joe Liked
1) Cool Canadian - The other T-Mac shows us a glimpse of what he's capable of. Problem is, for $34 million we want even more. Remember Nets fans, six words from last season: Jim McIlvaine. Soumaila Samake. Vladimir Stepania.
2) J Kidd - Almost another triple double. No, he doesn't shoot particularly well, but he does just about everything else as good as anyone. 16 points, 9 rebounds, 13 assists
3) Almost 50 - 47% shooting tonight, about as good as this team can do. And when they score inside as often as they did tonight, the percentage should be at least that high. News flash - you're not a jump shooting team. Don't act like one and you'll go far.

What Joe Didn't Like
1) KMart Discount - What's going on with Martin? Looks somewhat confused on offense, isn't taking on the defensive challenges with the usual relish. Still can't shoot from outside. It's only 5 games in, but I'm already worried.
2) Jason Collins - He's a rookie, I can't expect too much, and he probably only got minutes tonight because Aaron Williams is hurting. But, did anyone check out his college days before he was drafted? He's supposed to be smart – he's from Stanford – but I haven't seen any signs of it yet. Nice three point play for his only three points, though.

Player of the Game
Todd MacCulloch - We're seeing the big picture now. Some signs that we might just have a center that'll contribute for a good long time to come. T-Mac, through my jumbled TV picture, still managed to do what most Canadians seem born to do - entertain Americans, or at least Netsfans, with an understated performance inside. Now Take Off, Eh!
- Joe

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