Tomorrow never knows, so enjoy today, says McGann
Live For Today
Iíve started this column about four times over the last couple weeksÖgetting half done one day, only to find it completely out of date by the next. Mostly, they were mea culpasÖwhy Scott hasnít been fired, why Jason will stay, but mostly why the Nets wonít be back in the Eastern Conference Finals.
And then the playoffs started, and at least for one game, the Nets looked like Lakers East, in other words, the regular season is real for other teams, but just an 82-game exhibition season for teams with a real shot at the title. Whether this proves to be true or just the happy residue of the fact that one-quarter of the Milwaukee Bucks are subject to indictment for assault or knocking over a Photomat with a giant cheese wheel, or whatever ones does for fun in Milwaukee (not counting watching ëThat 70s Showí, featuring a luscious redhead – from, of course, New Jersey – and the music of Ben Vaughn – also from New Jersey).
So one game into the playoffs, I donít feel like I have any better handle on this team than I did when it was losing to Cleveland and driving us nuts. Unlike the majority of newspaper columnists, I like to have something to say when I write a column. (And now I hear the voice of my old boss Kevin Manahan, who toils [haunted no doubt by the ghost of Dave Klein, who isnít dead but remains annoying] in the dark labyrinths of the Star-Ledger sports department, saying ìsince when? At least you spell a few words right these days, which is a nice change.î)
Well, I waited and hoped. And waited and waited to write that ìAmen, Scott gets the bootî column, knowing the gleeful response from Nets Nut would be worth the wait. But like a Pentagon briefer (we have secured Basra, no really, almost, sorta, kinda), I just couldnít seem to get the story right. So what went wrong (or right)? Hereís the big-time sports columnist answer: I dunno. Maybe Scott got a clue. Maybe Jason Kiddís heel got better. Maybe Richard Jefferson grew up. Maybe Rodney Rogers found his trey shot. Maybe my prediction sealed Scott to a fate coaching the Nets until weíre all old and grey. And maybe weíre due for a frog storm (like in the odd but enjoyable ìMagnoliaî).
Excuse me if, going into the playoffs, I wasnít sold on this group to meet the Kings, um, I mean Lakers, in the NBA Finals, despite the fact that the rest of the East looks like an NIT bracket. After Saturday? Who the hell knows? I still think the only team that can stop the Nets in the East, besides the Nets, is Detroit.
Maybe making it all the more important is the growing sense of now or never I have about this franchise. There are a lot of rumblings, may be good, but many bad about the future of the Nets. First, the good. Lou ìChucklesî Lamoriello, who fired one of the leagueís better public relations directors because he wouldnít shave his beard, may be bailing on the Nets and Devils for Boston. While I think Rod Thorn would be better off not having Grumpy Lou looking over his shoulder, the mere idea of this suggests bigger problems in the organization.
Evidently, George Steinbrenner has stopped taking his Prozac. Suddenly, heís meddling with his baseball people and lost sight of the value of TV programming. The marriage of the Nets, Devils and Yankees is in big trouble because of Steinbrenner reverting to his 1980s form. That may be why Louie Kablooey might be considering leaving for Beantown to run just a hockey team, instead of running two franchises in the swamp. Some of the grief is from the fact that the Devils are clearly losing money (even a Stanley Cup wonít keep them out of the red, which suggests giant, hairy problems for NHL, caused largely by the Rangers) and the Nets need to reach the third round of the playoffs to break even, in part because some $80 million in payroll liability, in part because the seats were too expensive, keeping down ticket sales and concession revenue, although payroll begins to improve a lot next season and smarter ticket pricing could do the rest. The Nets issue is less pressing, too, because they at least provide programming for YES Network, which provides a non-paper revenue, lost in arcane accounting methods.
Now, the complicated ownership structure that seems to own the Yankees, Nets and Devils is sleeping in separate bedrooms these days, and a break up and sell off may not be far off. By summerís end the Nets could find themselves with new, Joe Taub-like owners, if things really blow up.
Regardless of what happens with ownership, changes are needed in terms of the oncourt mix and the coaching staff. I still think the Nets will better off without Scott in the long run, although it is increasingly looking like Jason Kidd will return (money talks, especially endorsement money), whether or not the ìCEOî is still on the bench. While it makes me sound dangerously like Nets Nut, Iíd like to see Jeff Van Gundy, a far better disciple of the Pat Riley school of coaching than Scott, running the Nets.
An early exit from the playoffs would provide the grounds for Scottís departure, but with all the other issues in the background, may prove a dangerous risk, as the sense of ìnow or neverî hangs in the air. That having been said, I think even I could coach the Nets into the Eastern Conference Finals (hint: youíd see a lot of Syracuse-style 2-3 collapse zone, which destroys other teams in the local youth league I coach in and forces teams to shoot from the perimeter), so I think weíre collectively out of luck.
I guess we need to sit back and hope for the best in the near term, because dark clouds are rolling in from the horizon. Maybe our only hope is for a semi-human sacrifice to the basketball gods. Whereís that pesky Sly the Silver Fox?
- Mike McGann
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