CLEVELAND — When the Nets take the court tonight against the Cavaliers, they will be getting a sneak preview of what their future could look like.
The Nets will spend this entire season, unless they are able to trade for Dwight Howard, wondering whether or not Deron Williams will re-sign after the season ends and he opts out of the final year of his deal. Cleveland knows that feeling all too well, after going through the exact same situation with LeBron James during the 2009-10 season.
The franchise has been reeling ever since “The Decision”, when James chose to play with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami in free agency and leave the Cavaliers. His decision left the franchise rudderless, and with little hope of competing any time soon.
After a terrible season a year ago, the Cavaliers managed to win the lottery, and selected former St. Patrick’s (N.J.) point guard Kyrie Irving with the top pick, hoping he can be the player to begin to get the franchise headed back in the right direction.
The sure way to keep Williams, and avoid the same fate that has befallen the Cavaliers, is to find a way to land Howard. The league’s dominant center showed the Nets first-hand what he’s capable of by scoring 16 points and grabbing 24 rebounds in Thursday’s 94-78 win over the Nets in Orlando.
But, with Brook Lopez sidelined until at least February with a stress fracture in his right foot, the Howard talks have been tabled. In the meantime, the Nets tried to surround Williams with several new players, including Mehmet Okur, DeShawn Stevenson and Shawne Williams, to try and make the team as competitive as possible this season while preserving salary-cap flexibility this summer if Howard reaches free agency.
After lopsided losses to Atlanta on Tuesday and in Orlando, it looked like the Nets could be in for a very long season. But despite losing in Atlanta, 105-98, on Friday night, you could begin to see things beginning to turn around, particularly on offense, where the Nets were dreadful in their previous two defeats.
Williams, who struggled in the two lopsided losses, got back on track, finishing with 23 points, two rebounds, six assists and two steals. Okur, who has been barely with the team for a week, began to look like the player he’s been for the majority of his career, finishing with 15 points, five rebounds and three assists in 33 minutes against the Hawks, including hitting three 3-pointers.
They also got plenty of scoring off the bench. Anthony Morrow, who has been dropped from the starting after a slow start, went 3-for-5 from 3-point range, and rookie MarShon Brooks,had a terrific game, finishing with 21 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the field off the bench.
* The Nets said Williams, who rolled his left ankle in Friday night’s loss, is fine, and will have no issues playing tonight.