Del Harris, in four-plus decades of coaching, probably thought he’d seen it all. Then he got a gander of this 4-43 Nets team. He’s calling it quits.
Harris, 72, who joined the Nets to be Kiki Vandeweghe’s veteran mentor, was supportive and positive but admitted, “I had not experienced such a losing situation since 1983, but because the players are such good people, the losing of games did not become the chaotic situation that has happened to so many teams.”
As he goes back to Texas, Harris says the Nets have gotten “over the hump” and good times are ahead.
It’s the present that has folks in rubber rooms.
It’s just as tough to take for the players, who admitted confusion and no cohesion late after a 97-93 loss to Detroit last night when the Nets kicked away a third straight home game.
“We were just a jumble offensively. We didn’t know what we were doing down the stretch,” said center Brook Lopez (27 points). “Didn’t know if we were calling a timeout, running certain plays for a 3 or a 2. There was no cohesiveness really. I don’t know if it was a lack of communication or what.”That certainly sounded like a shot at the coaching staff.
“I don’t think so,” said Lopez, whose monster effort plus a splendid double-double from Devin Harris in his return from injury were wasted. “There are coaches involved, but it’s on us players.”
The Nets blew a four-point lead in the last 2:01 when they were outscored 10-2 while missing 6-of-7 shots. So 47 games in, the Nets still are stuck on four victories. Their hopes of heading to Toronto tonight off a win received ample support: Harris’ game after missing four with a sore right wrist, Lopez’s 22nd 20-point game, a lineup change that made Jarvis Hayes (11 points) a starter and put Chris Douglas-Roberts (first scoreless game this season) on the bench, four starters in double figures (except Yi Jianlian who shot a dreadful 1-of-12), and they faced a gosh-awful opponent that had lost 19-of-23 games.
Well, zone-happy Detroit can say it has won five of 24. Again, the Nets’ offense died in crunch time. Again when the Nets’ needed a 3-pointer to tie, they got an airball. It came at :10.9 from Harris, who raced up, without a timeout, after Rip Hamilton (22 points) went 1-of-2 at the line for Detroit at :17.7.
“I thought my wrist was stronger than what it was,” said Harris (24 points, season-high 14 assists). “There was some confusion whether we were going to call timeout or run the play we designed. We didn’t expect (Hamilton) to miss the free throw. The first good look we had, we wanted to take.”
It was way short, with Prince possibly getting a piece, Harris said.
“We let it get away late,” said Hayes, who made his first start of the season.
When Courtney Lee (15 points) tripled at 5:36, the Nets had a five-point lead. But Detroit rode Hamilton and Rodney Stuckey to a 91-91 tie after the Nets failed to hold the 91-87 edge provided by a Kris Humphries (seven points, eight boards) jumper at 2:22. Lopez missed with the game at 91-all. Detroit did the same — but got the rebound when it was ruled off Lopez. After a timeout, Prince cut and Hamilton fed him from under the Nets’ basket at :45.4. Score. Lee missed. The Nets fouled Hamilton: 95-91. Lopez dunked off Harris’ 14th assist — ending a fatal drought of 2:03. Hamilton went 1-of-2. Harris’ shot missed at :10.3. Stuckey repeated the 1-of-2. Game.