posted October 30, 2006 at 11:46 EST in NBA Articles

Nets will contend

I’m always ripping the New Jersey Nets and more specifically, small forward, Vince Carter, but I have to admit, that I think the Nets will be a very competitive team in the eastern conference in 2006-07.

Whether this team can really win in the postseason remains to be seen, but they are a veteran laden team, with enough young talent and depth, that they should easily win the Atlantic division on their way to at least another appearance in the second round of the playoffs.

Having said that, here is my preview on the Nets for 2006-07.

Point Guard

Not only do the Nets have perennial all-star, Jason Kidd, but they also drafted a player who could one day turn out to be special point guard in rookie, Marcus Williams. With Kidd starting to age, there is absolutely no time like the present to get Williams ready for his introduction to the NBA.

Shooting Guard

It would appear that the Nets got a stellar season out of Vince Carter last year, but the reality of Carter is that he still takes too many fadeaways and only shoots 43 percent from the field no matter how many spectacular highlight reel plays he makes. Yes, Carter can take over games with his athletic ability, but as a total package, I’d still take several other two guards over Carter. The Nets made an excellent acquisition by signing veteran sharpshooter, Eddie House to back Carter up. Youngster, Antoine Wright, a first-round draft pick last season, should also see minutes here and at the small forward spot behind Jefferson.

Small Forward

Richard Jefferson may actually be the Nets best player. In one less game than Carter, Jefferson took over 500 less shots than Carter, but made only 150 less, averaging 19.5 points on almost 50 percent shooting, which is what I’d call extremely efficient. If the Nets go to Jefferson a little more, who knows what could happen. The Nets could have a problem at the backup spot if Bostjan Nachbar isn’t ready for some quality minutes.

Power Forward

To put it mildly, Jason Collins is mediocre at best. The Nets do however have a wily veteran scorer in Cliff Robinson who still knows how to put the ball in the basket for short stretches.

Center

The Nets should be thanking their lucky stars that Nenad Kristic has turned out to be the player he has, which, succinctly, is one of the best young frontcourt players in the game. Now, if they can only find some more shots for the smooth European. The Nets also drafted another player from UConn who has a chance to be a solid player for years in rookie forward/center Josh Boone.

Prognosis:

I expect the Nets to win another division title this season with at the very least, another appearance in the second round of the playoffs, if not more. However, I don’t think they’re ready for the conference finals just yet.

See this section tomorow for our continued look at every NBA team.

Eric Williams is a syndicated columnist who can be heard every Wednesday at 3pm EST on www.BetUSradio.com. You can contact him at Eklass66@yahoo.com.