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Brooklyn Nets: All-Time Starting Five Lineup

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Brooklyn Nets, Joe Johnson

If the Brooklyn Nets were able to create a starting five featuring their best position players of all time, regardless of which period the players played in, who would that starting five be? This starting five can feature any player on the team after the Nets joined the NBA in 1976, so I will NOT be including Julius Erving and Rick Barry on this list.

My All-Time Starting Nets Five

Center: Brook Lopez

Career Stats: 16.8 ppg 6.4 RPG, 9 seasons with NJN/BKN

This position might have been the most difficult to select. There were several solid options to choose from, including Derrick Coleman and Jayson Williams, who played very solid basketball for the Nets in the ’90s, to old-timer Daryl Dawkins who was a dunk machine in the ’80s. I ended up going with Brook Lopez due to his consistent scoring and ability to play a true 5. The other players on the list were undersized centers and were better suited as Power Forwards.

A talented scoring big man drafted by the Nets from Stanford, Lopez’s 9-year tenure with the Nets often goes overlooked, as he was always one of the more quiet personalities on the team. Lopez offensively had all the tools to be an all-star center: post up scoring ability, great mid-range game, and he could even hit the open three on occasion. At his peak, Lopez averaged over 20 points per game for the Nets and helped with their transition from New Jersey to Brooklyn. The big knock on Lopez was and will always be his lack of rebounding, as he never averaged more than 9 rebounds per game in any season. Lopez was also viewed as “soft” on defense, and while he averaged more than 1.5 blocks throughout his career, he never struck fear into his opponents.

Power Forward: Kenyon Martin 

Career Stats: 12.3 ppg, 6.8 RPG, 4 seasons with NJN

Yes, K-mart’s career numbers will not wow anybody. Derrick Coleman averaged more points and rebounds than K-Mart so did Buck Williams. Obviously, from a historical standpoint, Kevin Garnett is the greatest PF to ever play for the Nets, but he played for the Nets well after his prime. K-Mart only played in NJ for 4 seasons, but his presence was so significant in New Jersey  I’m sure many Nets fans would assume he played there longer.

K-Mart was a pivotal member of the Nets teams that represented the Eastern Conference in back to back NBA Finals. Even as a limited shooter (his jump shot was one of the ugliest in the NBA) and undersized big man, Martin relied heavily on his athleticism and energy to score and make plays for his team.  He brought an intensity to the Nets that was unprecedented and upon Jason Kidd’s arrival, quickly became one of Kidd’s favorite players to set up for shots around the rim. From diving for loose balls every night to high flying two-handed dunks, Martin was an extremely fun player to watch, and he always seemed to elevate his game during the playoffs (see his ppg and RPG higher in playoff appearances with NJN).

Small Forward: Kevin Durant

Career Stats: 27.0 ppg, 7.1 RPG, 0 seasons with NJN 

Technically, Durant 100% qualifies for this list. While he hasn’t played in a Nets uniform yet, there is no small forward in the history of the franchise that has accomplished anything close what to KD has. Durant is a former MVP (2013 – 14 season), 2-time NBA champion (won Finals MVP in both), 4-time scoring champion, and a 10-time all-star. He is arguably the best scorer in the last decade, and he is just 31 years old. The Nets will await to see if Durant can return to an elite level next season, almost 2 years removed from the Achilles injury he suffered in the 2018 – 19 NBA Finals.

Other small forwards considered: Richard Jefferson, Bojan Bogdanović, Keith Van Horn, Kendall Gill, and the interchangeable SF/SG players, Vince Carter and Joe Johnson.

Shooting Guard: Vince Carter

Career Stats: 16.7 ppg, 4.5 seasons with NJN

VC joined the Nets in 2004 after 7 great years with Toronto and instantly developed chemistry with teammate Jason Kidd. The loss of K-Mart to Denver became a distant memory in the eyes of Nets fans, as Carter provided fans with highlight-reel dunks and alley-oops on a nightly basis. Two of the best Vince Carter plays on the Nets you will ever see: His reverse dunk alley-oop pass from Kidd in 2006 and his posterization of Alonzo Mourning in 2005. While the Nets never went back to a championship with Kidd and Cater, the pair gave fans several years of extremely entertaining basketball.

While one could make the argument that Carter was a small forward for the Nets, he and Jefferson shared wing duties and were interchangeable at the 2 and the 3. Other notable shooting guards that could have been selected include Drazen Petrović, who was becoming a superstar for the Nets until he passed away after a tragic car accident in 1993 and Joe Johnson, who was the leader on Brooklyn teams that went to the playoffs in the early 2010s.

Point Guard: Jason Kidd

Career Stats: 12.6 ppg 6.7 RPG 8.7 APG, 6.5 seasons with NJN

This one was a no-brainer; Jason Kidd is the greatest Net of all time and was the main piece during the franchise’s most successful run to date. From the time he was traded to the Nets in 2001 for Stephon Marbury to when he was traded back to the Mavericks in 2007, there was never a greater time for basketball in New Jersey. Always an elite passer, Kidd made everyone on the Nets better because he made the game easier for them. Whether it was setting up players like K-Mart or Carter for epic fast-break dunks to finding open shooters like Keith Van Horn, Lucious Harris, and Kerry Kittles for open three-pointers, Kidd always knew where his teammates were going to be before they got there. If you want to relive some of Kidd’s greatest assists of his career, many of them with a Nets uniform on, watch this video here. The man was an absolute magician with the basketball.

Kenny Anderson, D’Angelo Russell, and Kyrie Irving are several other notable great NBA point guards.

Do you agree or disagree with my list? Let me know @firesidenets on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for your latest Brooklyn Nets news and listen to the Fireside Nets w/ Spen & Nick podcast!

New York Yankees News/Rumors: YES broadcasts, The new Derek Jeter, Big Money team and more

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New York Yankees, Aaron Judge

“The Arizona Plan” could start baseball in just over a month!

While we all settle in and practice social distancing, the New York Yankees await a time when baseball can begin anew.  At this point, it looks like it will just a month away if the MLB and Federal Health officials deal comes to fruition.  The games will start in Arizona at the domed Chase Field, home of the Diamondbacks, and at over a dozen area open-air minor league and college facilities. Scheduling for all 30 MLB teams and several logistical problems must be solved before the season can start.

Two situations that can’t be worked out by MLB is the progress of the coronavirus and the environmental problems that will face players that may have to play in temperatures that can approach 120 degrees.  Any games will at the start be in front of empty stands, and players will be forced to follow social distancing guidelines when possible.  It has already been announced that dugouts will not be used in favor of players sitting six feet apart in the stands.

YES Broadcasts “Classics”

Meanwhile, Yankee fans look for all ways to fill the void of not having as baseball season as of yet.  One way game starved fans can satisfy some of their need for baseball is to watch the YES Network.  Here’s a look at the lineup for the weekend and beyond.  Saturday at 7 a.m., the feature will be Dave Righetti’s no-hitter against the Red Sox from 1983. Later Saturday at 1 p.m. The 2001 World Series game 5 against the Diamondbacks.  Sunday at 1 p.m. Yankees vs. the Twins from June 2019, and on Tuesday a Rays game from May of 2019.

The New Derek Jeter?

Many New York Yankee fans regard Aaron Judge as being similar to Derek Jeter both in his zest for play and demeanor.  Like Derek, when Jeter is interviewed, it is about winning and the team, not about him.  Many see him as a future team captain.  On “The Huddle,” an Adidas Instagram Live chat, Judge was asked how it felt to be the new Derek Jeter.  Judge laughed but answered the question in a similar fashion as Jeter would:

“He paved the way for sure,” Judge said. “That’s the thing that I’ve been fortunate to be with the Yankees, the legends we have coming in and out of the building during spring training, during the season, just checking in. The Jeters, the Mariano Riveras, Andy Pettitte, Ron Guidry, all those guys. Reggie Jackson. It’s no joke, man. You feel that presence.”

New York Yankees is most valuable

Forbes magazine has listed its most valuable MLB teams.  The New York Yankees are listed at number one at $5 Billion.  The top five also includes The Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and the San Francisco Giants for 2020.  The two teams with the most substantial increase in value are the Yankees and the Washington Nationals.  The Houston Astros had the most substantial operating income at $99 million.  Next year’s listing may look very different, as substantially reduced revenues from the shortened season will affect different teams in different ways.

Alex Rodriguez on the Arizona Plan

Former New York Yankee 3rd baseman and present ESPN/FOX baseball analyst warns players to get ready because any practice time many be very short as MLB tries to get in as many games as possible.  Here’s what he had to say:

“Well, I think right now, everything is so fluid,” Rodriguez said Tuesday. “We make plans and God laughs right now. So I think there are no bad ideas. I think, to start thinking as a player, preparing for the earliest time possible is the greatest thing we can do. The worst thing for a player would be, ‘Hey, we think it’s August.’ And then the commissioner says, ‘Hey, we’re opening things up.’ And you have to show up May 15 and you’re not quite ready. So, I think it’d be an adjustment, but I think we would follow suit.”

 

New York Yankees: Yankee fans try to divert their attention by watching famous Yankee moments!

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New York Yankees fans are at a loss without the baseball season starting this week.  Already deprived of a complete spring training season, Yankee fans are beside themselves with no games being played.  Many fans are turning to famous Yankee moments of the past broadcast on the YES Networks, Yankee Classics, Youtube videos of famous Yankee moments, and other videos to quench their thirst for baseball.

A few weeks ago, MLB shut down the balance of spring training and announced a two-week delay to the start of the regular season.  A lot has changed since then as the coronavirus is spreading around the country.  New York is the epicenter center for the spread of the dire virus, but other areas, including Florida’s southern counties, Los Angeles, and New Orleans, are beginning to catch up.

The original two-week delay now appears to be two months or more.  So what are fans trying to do to divert the onslaught of coronavirus news into something baseball to watch or take part in.   They are watching classic games and searching the internet for anything Yankees they can find.

Because of the rich history of the New York Yankees, there are plenty of famous Yankee moments to search for.  Moments like Aaron Judge’s first home run,  Bucky Dent’s famous home run against the Red Sox, Aaron Boone’s home run to left against the Red Sox winning them the pennant are just a few.  Searching back, they can enjoy Yankeeographies of the M & M boys home run race when Maris overtook Mantle for the 61 home run record, to famous Yankee catcher Yogi Berra’s jump into the arms of Don Larsen when he completed the first-ever perfect game in World Series history.

There is no shortage of Yankee stuff on the net if you are creative.  Just type in New York Yankees in the Youtube search engine, and you will see what I mean.  Meanwhile, the YES Network has a schedule of Yankee Classic games of the past, as well as more recent games like the postseason games from last year.  There are all the wonderful Yankeeographies featuring the stories of the lives of Yankee greats.  There is Yankee Magazine, and the program they call “Homegrown” lets Yankee fans know what’s going on with minor league players.

Every afternoon in conjunction with ESPN radio and the YES Network Micheal Kay and associates talk about Yankee baseball and all of New York area sports.  You can also join this writer on Facebook, where we talk Yankee baseball in the Yankee Fans R US!! group.  The group is the friendliest, respectful group that chats and posts about the Yankees and Yankee fans.  Come join me!

 

Yankees: Did you miss yesterday’s opening day game? See it here, watch!

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New York Yankees

The New York Yankees, like all of baseball, did not have an opening day celebration yesterday or game yesterday.  With the coronavirus creating social distancing, all of the remainder of spring training was canceled, and the start of the season pushed back for at least two weeks.  That now appears to be more like two months or more.

The MLB The Show 20 has produced a completely digitalized production of what that opening day game at Baltimore yesterday might have looked like.  This writer is extremely impressed with the job they did digitalizing all the Yankee players and the plays.  It’s an easy watch as it compressed a probable three-plus hour game into just an hour.   The YES Network released the video.  See it here.

The producers did a fantastic job of putting this imaginative video together.

The reality is that a New York Yankee season probably won’t start until mid-June and will consist of somewhere around a 90-100 game season that may stretch into November.  MLB is considering a multitude of options that will remain fluid until the CDC releases public distancing restrictions for the entire country.

The season format will be based on making the season as legitimate as possible even though it will be dramatically shortened.   Here are a few of the options being considered:  Doing away with all interleague play, playing teams out of that team’s division only once during the season, and reducing meeting teams within the division by one series.

Whatever the New York Yankee season looks like, the season will carry with it an asterisk that will go down in history, much like the strike-shortened season of 1981.  Of course, everything is open to further adjustment and change in accordance with when the coronavirus pandemic decreases or is eliminated.   The one thing that is for sure, is that Yankee fans all over the world cant’ wait for the season, whatever it looks like to get started.

 

New York Yankees: A-Rod giving baseball classes for teens on Instagram, watch!

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New York Yankees, Alex Rodriguez

Yankee great A-Rod adds to online learning today at 5 pm

The New York Yankees want to do their part regarding the coronavirus.  They are taking steps to keep players safe and have let players go wherever they feel the safest. As children around the country start taking their classes online as schools are closing everywhere due to the coronavirus, Alex Rodriguez is teaching baseball on Instagram.  You can tune in today at 5 pm to watch the broadcast that is directed at teens but will be interesting for all fans of baseball.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1241570522543972352

Rodriguez, the former shortstop and 3rd baseman for the Yankees, is one of the best baseball players of the past two decades, and now he is sharing some of his knowledge with teens and others in a video broadcast on Instagram.  Rodriguez, in his career the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, and the New York Yankees amassed over 3,100 hits, 696 home runs while maintaining a .295 batting average and driving in almost 2,100 runs in his incredible 22-year career.

For Yankee game starved fans, this may be just the thing to help you get through this time of great concern and help you with the second separation from baseball in just six months.  Another outlet to quench your thirst for baseball is the YES Network. The Network announced yesterday that they would be delving into the Yankee Classics archive to produce more Yankee Classics on the network in absence of regular baseball games.  In addition to all the Classics, Yankeeogrpahy, Yankee Magazine, and Homegrown are other interesting broadcasts for Yankee fans.

For those that are interested in the Rodriguez class or have children or friends that may be interested, you can tune in today, Monday, March 23, 2020, to watch the Instagram class at 5 pm.  For those that cannot, it should be available on his Instagram account for rebroadcast.

 

New York Yankees: YES Network born 18 years ago today!

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New York Yankees, James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka

New York Yankee fans were blessed with their own television network devoted to Yankee baseball on March 19, 1992.  The Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network is a cable network dedicated to all things Yankee.  When it first premiered, it broadcast all Yankee games no matter where they took place as it still does today.

Since then, it has expanded coverage to not only the games but programs devoted to the history of the Yankees, Spring training, player’s lives and interviews with players and other celebrities. Two of the most popular features on YES, are Encore which allows fans that may be working, the ability to watch that day’s game at another time.  The other is New York Yankee Classics, classic games in Yankee history.

The regional sports network now covers all New York sports, from Ice hockey to soccer.  Also, in association with ESPN, it presents the Michael Kay Show each afternoon.  Kay not only has his own show on cable, but he is the voice of the YES Network from the broadcast booth when televising Yankee games along with dozens of other Yankees over the years, including Phil Rizzuto, Bobby Mercer, and others.

Yankee fans can emerge themselves in Yankee player’s lives with programs like Yankeeographies, Yankees Magazine, and Homegrown, delving into the lives of future Yankees greats.  Michael Kay’s Centerstage features interviews with Yankee players and other sports greats.

The most important feature of the YES Network is the broadcasting of Yankee baseball games.  Although it is a regional network, it is being picked up by more and more cable companies around the country.  In addition to the game broadcast, their excellent, knowledgeable staff engages in Batting Practice today, a pre-game show, and a post-game show with analysis by journalists and baseball brainiacs.

Congratulations to Michael Kay and the YES Network on 18 years of broadcasting Yankee games.  Hopefully, those broadcasts will again take place sooner than later after this coronavirus disease spread has receded, and the Center for Disease Control allows it.