New Jersey Nets 2009 Season Update
Posted 12/29/2009
New Jersey Nets
The New Jersey Nets began the season with a horrible stretch of games, so bad in fact that it reached historical proportions.
The Nets lost their first 19 games, setting an NBA record for the worst losing streak to start a season.
Head coach Lawrence Frank, the longest tenured NBA coach at the time, was fired and replaced by front office personnel man Kiki Vandeweghe.
It's highly doubtful that Frank was the real problem with the Nets, but it's much easier to fire the head coach then all 15 players.
To be honest, New Jersey isn't really historically bad when you look at some of the talent they have on their roster.
A fairly difficult schedule combined with a number of key injuries has really conjured up the perfect storm for such a lousy start to the season.
Some of the problem also relates to the amount of inexperience on the current team. The Nets are building for the future and have stripped their roster almost entirely of veterans, instead going with a full youth movement.
That means players like point guard Devin Harris have to step up and try to take on more of a leadership role that would usually be taken care of by a veteran. Harris has been a good acquisition for the Nets and is clearly their best player, but he can't compare to other stars in the East like Dwyane Wade and LeBron James.
Things aren't going to get much better for the Nets this year, but the team has to remember that they really aren't as bad as their record might indicate.Either way, going through some growing pains now could make it that much more worth it down the road if the team is able to become a winner.