Hitman

Well the Sixers are playing great ball right now at 7-3, a 70% winning percentage. Thier second best player this year?

Keith Van Horn. Yes the much maligned Van Horn, who was dogged by teammates after the finals last year, despite the fact that without his many big shots they never would have made it as far as they did.

Van Horn's numbers thus far:

18.2 Ppg.
9.0 Rpg.
1.8 Apg.

47% field goal percentage
39% from three

For those who think he won't keep those numbers up, those numbers are actually more in tune with his career averages than what he did last year in the Nets Princeton style offense - a good offense that poorly suits Van Horn's considerable skills.

Wouldn't it be something if Van Horn made the All Star team this year? He could say hi to his old buddy Jason Kidd, and maybe even Kenyon Martin - the guy who claimed that Van Horn was soft.

Hitman

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Charlie Brown

OK, let's not get carried away. KVH is a nice player, but considerable skills is a bit much. I've watched Van Horn a lot this season and he is the same KVH as he as always been. He can score, but is inconsistant. He will board, but he is far from a monster on the boards. He will TO the ball more than he should. And for a man of his size, he can't D up the better 4's.

Petey

I am a Net fan, but I know better than to say Martin will make the squad unless voted in by fans.

I am sorry to see KVH go... he is my favorite player.

-Petey

benfica

I though it was a horrible trade for the Nets. First they trade two young players for a player who has maybe one good season left.

They trade KVN and T-MAC to a team in the same division, now I doubt the Nets can get past the sixers never mind the Lakers.

The Nets should have been content to make the finals again. Now we will have to wait another 20 years.

They traded their best rebounder and scorer. Kmart and RJ are playing terrible.

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Charlie Brown

So the Nets are 7-3 with Kmart and RJ playing terrible, what happens when the both start to improve? Which young players usually do as the season goes on.

KVH is good at what he does. Van Horn is a nice player. But I would much rather go to war with Martin and RJ.

Petey

Martin and RJ were on the team last year, it's more a question about wanting to go to war with KVH and Todd or Mutombo.

-Petey

Charlie Brown

Petey IMO the Nets clearly see RJ and Martin as their answers to the 3 and 4 respectively for the future. To make it possible to keep them (i.e. pay them), you couldn't have Van Horn on the books for a max contract. Likewise, Todd Mac is a nice player, but he is better suited for a backup center/pf role, where he plays 20-25 minutes a game. He is a great offensive burst. But I don't think you want to committ a great amount of money to that role on your team.

As the team stood last year, IMO they couldn't win a championship this year. Can they with Mutombo? We will see, but I haven't seen anything to make me think they can't.

And granted Mutumbo is on the books for a big chunk of change, but that is over 3 years while KVH and Todd Mac are over 5 or so. Most likely Mutumbo will be on the Nets for this season and next. After that the Nets will buy out his contract and go with their younger centers.

Hitman

As somewhat of a Nets fan myself, I've gone back and forth on the trade. I thought the trade made them the best defensive team in the league, however...

Both KVH and MacCullogh are young and important cogs in the Net offense last year. KVH with his outside shooting ability (for some reason he was never given the ball in the post, which was previously a strong point - and is again a strong point with the Sixers) and Todd had very soft hands and a touch around the basket.

If RJ and RR can step up and become consistent 15 ppg scorers, then it may wind up being a smart move. Time will tell.

I tell you what though - A Nets/ Sixers Eastern Conference finals would be quite entertaining.

Hitman

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Charlie Brown

Hitman, most Nets fans (including myself) questioned the trade, which is natural anytime you trade 40% of your starting roster away. But you won't have a true answer until the end of the season. Van Horn looks good this year, but he is more of a focus on the 76ers than he is on the Nets. IMO no one on the Nets will ever average that many points/rebounds, because of the way the Nets spread minutes and shots.

The Nets have played well so far this season, not great, which is natural considering they are using a new group of people. They are 7-3 and could easily be better. Give them time.

Petey

They are their own players, they could pay them, and they own part of the YES network... the money is there.

I could see money being an issue if it dropped them way below the cap where they could sign a fa, but that is not even true.

-Petey

Charlie Brown

You can't pay Van Horn the max (Chris Webber gets the max, Shaq gets the max, J Kidd get's the max, not KVH) and expect to win. Yes the Nets are part of the YES Network, but they are not the Yankees. Having Kidd, KVH, Jefferson, and Martin all with max or near max contracts would be a ton of money with the luxury tax figured in.

benfica

The sixers have to much offense, currently ranked 7th the in the league.

And KVH is good team defender, and I though he was under rated as a defender last year. Although I can't understand why he doesn't get more blocks with his leaping ability.

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Charlie Brown

The Mavs have as much offense as any team in the L and they had to pull it out at the end to beat the Nets. I don't think the 6ers have so much offense that they can overwhelm the Nets over a 5/7 game series.

KVH is an adequate defender. The better 4's in NBA will always beat him. The quicker 4's always seem to get around him and teh stronger 4's always seem to push him around. Like I said, KVH is a nice player. Nothing more, nothing less.

<<<D>>>

KVH has played great, He's brought different game in Philly. He's been really aggressive on the boards and he's scoring consistantly. He just looks more comfortable with the type of offense they run. If selected, I'm sure he wouldn't mind saying hello to his former teammates during the All-Star game. But more important, everyone know's a match-up during the playoff's against the Nets is something he'll be really looking forward to

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