Nets Start With A Loss
October 5th, 2009 | by Ryan Jones |The New Jersey Nets started the 2009-10 preseason the way they ended 48 nights during the 2008-09 season: with a loss. But more importantly, we got our first look at the players that will eventually make up the Nets starting lineup.
Devin Harris, Jarvis Hayes, Book Lopez and Yi Jianlian should get the start opening night and projected starting shooting guard Courtney Lee was the only one missing as he was resting an injured foot. Lee’s replacement was second year player Chris Douglas-Roberts and on day one showed maybe he should stay in the starting lineup.
CDR put up 21 points on 5-9 shooting, while scoring nearly half of the Nets’ points in the third quarter. Preseason or not, for a player that averaged less than 5 ppg in his rookie year, this is the type of performance that makes you take notice.
Some of us wanted to see more of Douglas-Roberts last season when the Nets season was long gone, but for some reason Lawrence Frank wouldn’t commit to the young wing. If New Jersey gets more days like Sunday from CDR, not even Larry will be able to keep him off the court.
Don’t get me wrong, Lee is a good little player and certainly a guy that has a role on this Nets team. But for a franchise that is clearly looking towards the future, CDR is more a part of this team’s future than Lee.
Another future player that should make his way into the starting lineup sooner rather than later is first round pick Terrance Williams. Making his NBA debut, Williams looked like anything but a rookie scoring 11 points and pulling down 11 rebounds in 26 minutes. Hayes is a solid role player, but Williams — like CDR — is the future of the New Jersey Nets.
If Douglas-Roberts and Williams can come along as Harris and Lopez — combined 33 points — continue to blossom, the New Jersey Nets will be back in the playoffs long before a single box moves to Brooklyn.
Tags: Chris Douglas-Roberts, New York Knicks, Preseason, Terrence Williams
