By FRED KERBER
Lawrence Frank dialed in from Paris on a conference call today to give the latest on the Nets European trek. The Nets open their pre-season tomorrow against the Heat – 2 p.m. here, on ESPN2.
So who’s starting?
“We’ll have to work that out tomorrow,” Frank said.
Of course he knows he just didn’t want to say anything until he told the team. Wouldn’t want someone throwing a fit if they found out on-line they weren’t starting. Devin Harris and Vince Carter bare locks at one and two, then figure Bobby Simmons, Sean Williams and Josh Boone up front. Yi Jianlian missed too much time with a bum ankle so Sean Williams should start at power forward. And because everyone except the janitor has raved about the new Sean Williams.
“Who starts tomorrow, I wouldn’t read terribly into it,” Frank said. “It’s just the lineup for the first game. The second game might be different.”
Frank was asked if he would start a – gasp! – rookie.
“Why not? We’re going to look at all combinations throughout the preseason. Devin and Vince are fixtures, but we will look at all combinations.”
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Nets are in the Paris Hilton. Insert own joke here.
Actually, they’re in the Hilton Arc de Triomphe but there’s not a heckuva lot you can really do with that.
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Back to Williams. And back to summer league. It was against Miami and No. 2 pick Michael Beasley that Williams was absolutely superb. And then the following day, against somebody likely to play in Finland or a CBA city near you, Williams was invisible. He insists he will change that stuff this season.
“It’s got to be a mental focus to come and prepare hard every day, know my assignments, just know my role on the team,” Williams said. “I’d like my role to be a defensive presence, a defensive stopper and an energy guy.”
If that’s what he wants, the Nets certainly will oblige him if he holds up his end.
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This is the second time the Nets have played in Europe. In 1984 for no apparent reason, the Nets played three games in Italy, won all three against Italian teams and averaged 130.7 points in those games.
Figure 130.7 points in the over/under for how many points the Nets will score in their first three regular season games this year.
In ’84 they also split two games in Israel against Israeli teams. They also played in Tokyo: 1996, two regular season games against Orlando, lost both. And they played in Mexico City in pre-season in ’99 and were crushed by Golden State. So the trend is they don’t do too good in other lands against NBA teams.
Quick note on that Tokyo trip. The games were the second and third of the regular season (nasty stretch, East Rutherford, Tokyo for two games, East Rutherford). Anyway, Vincent Askew, acquired before the season, didn’t get on the plane. He was ticked at his role: 7 minutes in the first game, a blowout loss to Cavs. He was traded while the team was in Japan.
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More from today. What are Frank’s goals other in Paris, other than the sights? But with Frank, he’ll be happiest seeing the inside of a gym. But here goes:
“Trying to establish a rotation. Will we be able to do that prior to the first game or is it going to be a case where it’s going to be an evolving thing? Will we be able to say we’re going to play X amount of guys? The next is who those guys should be. Next is what combinations work best together? Next is versatility of lineups, different types of lineups we can put out there. What’s going to be our best defensive team? What’s going to be our best offensive team? What’s going to be our best possibly pressing unit?
“So we got a lot of things to figure out. It’s not going to happen all in the pre-season, but you at least want to go into that first game with a pretty good feel of what’s going to go on. During this whole time you’re defining roles and seeing how the pieces fit.”
As for the rotation, Frank can’t even put a number on it yet. He again said that he would not be against going as high as 10 players. In the past, he has been comfortable with eight, sometimes seven, sometimes nine. But the 10 could come if he pulls a Hubie and employs a straight pressing, trapping unit.
“I sometimes refer to the Memphis team under Hubie Brown where they played 10. I don’t want to limit it. We’ve done eight to nine. One year we did seven,” Frank said. “But I wouldn’t be opposed to 10 guys if that’s what made sense.”
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One of the guys you won’t see though is Jarvis Hayes who remains bummed by a sore hamstring.
“It’s a strained hamstring,” Frank said. “What happens is he’s able to get it going a little bit. Once we pick up the pace I think he feels it tightens up on him. I think when he feels it’s tight that maybe he’s afraid if he goes that not that it necessarily will pop but it just doesn’t feel right. It’s a strain and it’s only been six days. It’s going to take time.”
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Keyon Dooling sounds like a doubtful. He went through his first contact practice but Frank said how he feels tomorrow will determine his status.
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Stories out of Orlando continually praise Dooling as person and player. Latest says the team wanted him back but feared luxury tax complications. We spoke to Dooling before they left for the trip about the Magic experience.
“No ill will toward Orlando. But I want to kick their butts when we play them,” he said succinctly.
One of the things Magic have stressed is how Dooling is a good teammate. Dooling admitted it’s been hard with the Nets because he was hurt.
“I’ve been real selective in my words, pulling guys to the side but it’s hard to be my normal self if I’m not out there going through it with the guys,” he said. “But I’ve got a good feeling about this team, our work ethic and the pieces we have. So I’m excited about this team.”
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Nets did a league-sponsored event with Special Olympics. Frank said they were hoping to see the Louvre tonight. Then there is a team photo at the Eiffel Tower tomorrow morning.
So far, no international incidents, no chats with Interpol. But vote for the Net most likely to try to draw a moustache on the Mona Lisa.
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Frank on Yi: “He’s shown signs…He has a very high basketball IQ, but the rhythm and the timing, not just him but all the guys, is going to take a long time. But he comes as advertised and we look forward to going through the whole process because we think he can be a very special player.”
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Useless fact of the day: Something to do with the French. Louis Moses Rose, a veteran from Napoleon’s army, was a French mercenary who was at the Alamo. He was the only member of the garrison who did not cross over the line in the dirt supposedly drawn by Col. William Travis, signifying a choice to stay and fight (and no doubt die). It was Rose who told the legendary tale about all the soldiers but him crossing the line (and as everybody else eventually got killed, verifying the story was, you know, tough). Anyway, Rose left and earned a nickname for all time: “The Coward of the Alamo.”