JKidd Gets his First Ring.

When the season started I asked myself if which former New Jersey Nets player would have a chance to get a ring first. There was Richard Jefferson with the San Antonio Spurs, Vince Carter who was with the Orlando Magic (traded to the Suns) and there was Jason Kidd and theDallas Mavericks. I never thought it would be Kidd. Yes, I thought that the Mavericks were done when Caron Butler came down because of an injury. But it turns out I was, well most of US were wrong. Seeing Kidd get his first (and only) championship was so overwhelming that I didn't know tears were coming down from my eyes. It was a bittersweet moment for me as a Nets fan. Happy that finally Kidd got what he deserves, bitter cause he wasn't in a Nets uniform when he won the championship. The frustration in the faces of the Heat players was also priceless, yep I had to say that. 


Kidd is one of the best point guards in the History of Basketball. His passing ability, defense and court vision is just unbelievable. I remember those two trips to the finals during the early 2000. First we (the Nets) got sweep by the Lakers then the following year we lost to the Spurs. Then we got VC from Toronto to make another Championship run.. but to no avail. Then after 2 years of second round exits and shortcomings, Kidd wanted out and was traded back to the Team that drafted him in exchange for a younger but injury riddled point guard, Devin Harris. That was one of the darkest days in the Garden State and in Nets' history. Losing Kidd ended our Championship hopes. So three seasons after losing a Hall of Famer, here we are still rebuilding and hopefully it ends next season with Deron Williams. 

Some Nets fans may still be bitter that Kidd forced his way out of New Jersey but you can't blame him, Ratner decides not to spend for the team. The "We had to work with what we have" attitude didn't work for Jason. With Dallas and an owner who is willing to spend a lot of money for a championship, it was the perfect place for him and yeah he wasn't getting any younger. He almost had one with the Nets but it's just not meant to be. After 18 seasons, two trips to the Finals and a lot of misfortunes Kidd can finally call himself a Champion. 



Congratulations Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks! Your 2010-2011 NBA World Champions!

Up and Running.

Brooklyn, New York. 

Well hello there Ball and the Basket readers (if ever there’s one). What do you know? BTB is back! LOL. I know BTB is a little awkward (cause it’s similar to BRB) but The Ball and the Basket is just too long. In case you don't know the NBA season is already over thanks to the Dallas Mavericks for eliminating the Miami Heat in 6 games (my prediction was Dallas in 5) to win their first championship ever.


I was supposed to post an entry earlier today but it turns out I left my draft at the office and I didn't want to start over, so I'm going to post that one tomorrow evening maybe if I don't fall asleep. There will be some changes in this blog starting today. First, I won't be following the Magic's season anymore. I'm still going to root for them but I decided that BTB is now going to be officially for the New Jersey Nets. It's not because the Magic sucks, because the Nets are much worse than them right now. It's just that writing my views and opinions about two teams is hard for me. I don't have the time to read every recap of the Nets' game and the Magic's game and write how I feel about them winning or losing. As you can see because of my frustrations, my last post in here was way back December last year. That's when the Magic and the Nets kept on losing. The Magic made it to the Playoffs but was eliminated in the first round by the team that they swept last year, the Hawks. While the Nets ended up with Deron instead of Carmelo. So i guess it was still a great season for the Nets.

So there you have it Ball and the Basket is back! We now look forward to the future and hopefully there's no lockout. Thanks guys.

Happy New Year.

I don't really know if there's someone following this amateur sports blog, So I'm just going to post this greetings for all the Nets and Magic fans.

For the Magic: Well it's been a roller coaster ride for us Magic fans. The Trade was really shocking. It came out of nowhere. I myself was stunned after hearing the news. I was sad to see Vince go but was happy cause the Magic's offence was dramatically improved. Hedo looks rejuvenated. Dwight is 5 technicals away from being suspended but is still an MVP candidate. Jason Richardson is still struggling since wearing a Magic uniform. Jason Williams is rumored to be considering retiring because of an injury. Still hate Jameer, I think Arenas should start IMO! 

I wish all the Magic fans well. 2011 is going to be big for us. Championship or Bust? 

For the Nets fans: uhmmmm.. I really got nothing to say. It's been a frustrating season for us. Anthony Morrow and Damion James are both out. The fan favorite, Terrence Williams was traded for a conditional first round pick. Avery Johnson is still annoying.. We're still trading for Melo. Favors continues to develop but is getting limited touches. Brook Lopez continues to struggle rebounding nad passing out during double teams. 

We're up against the Bulls today and is heading to the road to battle the Wolves tomorrow. Stern Hates us. We all know that. Proky is trying to save us. The future remains bright. God speed to all Nets fans out there. Have a Great New Year. A win would be Nice..

Magic and the Nets out Cold in Newark.

The Magic will face the Nets for the third time this season. Orlando just snapped the winning streaks of the Spurs (had 10) and the Celtics (14). Meanwhile the Nets just lose to the Hornets at the road, thanks to the miserable third quarter curse of the Nets.

The game was almost cancelled because of the snowstorm in the New Jersey Area but later this day it was announced that the game is still on, and they're asking every media outlet to spread the word. So maybe we're expecting a little crowd in the Rock tonight. Hopefully not cause the Nets are last again in attendance this year. No wonder they're leaving Newark for Brooklyn.

So what to expect tonight? Trade talks, trade talks, trade talks. The Nets has been trying to acquire Denver Nuggets forward, Carmelo Anthony but the trade talks (yeah i said that word again.) was stopped because of the death of Anthony's sister. On the other side of the globe the Magic are trying to acquire a backup center after trading away Marcin Gortat to the Suns along with Ex-Net Vince Carter and Michael Peitrus. Brandon Bass has been doing a great job covering the center spot when Dwight is in foul trouble but Otis Smith insist that they still need a legit backup center.

The Nets would have a great advantage if Brook Lopez can attack the rim early and get Howard into foul trouble, which is what I don't expect him to do (prove me wrong Brook). With Brandon Bass on FIRE Chris Humphries needs to overpower him at the four spot and intimidate him like what he did to Blake Griffin. Hedo might be a BIG problem of the Nets cause i don't really expect Travis Outlaw to defend him well. And when he's hot from Downtown he's unstoppable. With Sasha coming off the bench I'm less worried of what Richardson can do. He's been struggling ever since he became a Magic. The real talk comes to the guard. It's Arenas, Nelson vs Harris, Farmar, it's just an interesting matchup right?

Tipoff is at 7:00 ET. Let's go Nets! Let's Go Magic..

It's Not that bad??

Two weeks ago I labeled the Sixers as the Worst team in the Eastern Conference or maybe in the League. Well it turns out I was wrong. After crushing the Nets at home the Sixers went on to win 5 of their 7 games. With Damion James out with a Broken foot, Ross is getting his second start in a Nets uniform against the Sixers. He did a pretty good job defending Kobe Bryant when the Lakers visited Newark, Kobe led the Lakers with 32 points (9-19 from the field) but turn the ball over 6 times but it was enough to send the Nets to their 7th straight lost.

The Nets remains optimistic and some fans still believe that the Nets would still make it to the Playoffs. The Nets faces the Wizards at home tomorrow. Let's end the skid, Let's go Nets..

It's All New

This is too much for a Nets fan like me. The 12-70 season was already deadly and now we have to face this 6-14 record of the "It's All New" Nets. I considered the summer a major failure for the Nets but i was still hoping for the Best. However, after seeing the Nets' performance tonight I'm getting ready to jump of the cliff.

Brook Lopez is the biggest disappointment of the Nets this season (IMO). He was supposed to lead the Nets without the injured Devin Harris, but instead he was the first one to fade. 2 rebounds in 39 minutes of play? For a 7'0 center? He left the arena without talking to the media, which is what he does when he has a bad game. Outlaw and Morrow provided the scoring for the Nets they scored 21 and 19 respectively. Jordan Farmar continues to do a great job filling in for Harris, he had 16 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assist. Imagine he had more rebounds than their "franchise" center, pathetic.

I still wonder why Avery Johnson told the Media that Terrence Williams had no minutes for the Nets that's why he was sent to the D-League. When your bench only scored 11 points, you have a problem. Terrence Williams could be the answer to that problem but Avery just won't admit it to himself. Even if sending Williams to the D-league is a punishment, you should consider the fact that the team needs this man. I don't care if Terrence already learned his lesson or not. When your team is struggling, you seek for solutions you don't burden them more. Maybe Brook is just a part of the problem cause from my point of view it may be the coaching staff.

The Nets carry their 3 game losing streak against Boston tonight. If all else fails, blame Avery.. For now, let's blame chemistry.

The Nets Beats the Blazers at Home.

After a poor performance against the worse team in the League the other night, the Nets pulled an upset against Brandon Roy and the Blazers. Thanks to the heroics of Devin Harris and the Team's defense during the final quarter of the game. Troy Murphy is back in the Nets rotation while Terrence Williams has already reported to the Springfield Armor of the D-league yesterday. Murphy had 4 points, 2 0f 2 shooting and 3 rebounds in just 10 minutes of play.

The Blazers took control of the game early but they failed to capitalize in the fourth quarter. They were carried by Wesley Mathews who finished with 25 points, shot 5 of 6 behind the arc, Brandon Roy with 21 points and LaMarcus Aldridge who has 20. Meanwhile the Nets starters responded, scoring 71 points of the team's 98. They were lead by Devin Harris with 25, followed Anthony Morrow with 16, shot 3 for six from downtown and Brook Lopez with 13. Kris Humphries have failed to register another double-double, He finished with 10 points and 8 rebounds.

The Nets faces their rival, The New York Knicks on Tuesday.