Jason Kidd is in town, and hopefully Joumanna got left behind. Sadly, Richard Jefferson - a player some of us have coveted in these here rebuilding talks - got himself hurt and won't play tonight, or possibly for months.
The business:
STARTERS:
PG - I can already hear the screams for Mike Bibby coming out of towns like Cleveland. This guy, despite his well-documented performance struggles this season, is going to be highly sought-after as soon as Geoff Petrie concedes.
SG - In today's chat, ESPN's John Hollinger agreed that the Kings should build around Kevin Martin. Could you have even fathomed this conversation two years ago?
SF - Everyone loves the Ronhawk.
PF - After that string of three great games, how does Shareef Abdur-Rahim do in the next two? 2-8 and 3 rebs in 21 minutes against Boston, 0-3 and 1 reb in 20 min against Detroit.
C - Brad Miller took a combined 20 shots in those two games. I know Chris Webber was guarding B-52 Saturday night, but... Shareef is a quality weapon, right? I mean, we saw it just last week? I don't really get why the team keeps ignoring the things that work in order to force things that haven't worked. (Miller's repeated jumpers with hands in his face, Bibby's repeated jumpers with hands in his face.)
NEW JERSEY
PG - It's been ignored with everything else going on, including New Jersey's struggles, but: Jason Kidd is having his best statistical season since he took Keith Van Horn and company to the Finals.
SG - Vince Carter is going to be so highly sought-after by the fans of struggling teams this season, it's going to get nauseous.
SF - According to the New York Times, Lawrence Frank hasn't decided who will start in place of Jefferson. I'm going to go wild guess with Bostjan Nachbar, who's pretty much a heap of ugly on the floor. Cheers to that.
PF - Mikki Moore - it's pronounced Mikey. Good player in a Kidd-based system. Could give Shareef/Brad some headaches in transition.
C - Jason Collins - it's pronounced Jason. Bad play in any system. Will rebound, might block a shot. Will probably commit 8 fouls.
THE LINE:
The Kings are 5-point favorites. The Nets are actually decent, though the loss of Jefferson hurts. I think the Nets pull it off. (I really do hate being so pessimistic - honestly.)
INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT NOTE:
Is any note really incredibly important at this point? Hmm... The Kings can get to .500 at home. Cheers!
PREGAME AIRING OF GRIEVANCES:
Justin Williams: 11 free throws, 2 makes. Gulp. His rebounding has made up for it, though: 19 rebounds in 40 minutes. Woo! (See, told you I hate being pessimistic.)
7p start on Comcast, kids. Enjoy.