Atlantic: 10 New Jersey Nets

The nets had a surprise waiting for them when they opened training camp last month at the Atlantic City Convention Center: The East Coast Video Show, attended by such companies as Playboy Entertainment Group, Pornication and Video Amor, was also headquartered at the complex for its annual conference. To the Nets' distraction the show's attendees, including some buxom porn stars, were often seen prancing around the building, which obviously attracted some attention. "I had to struggle to get through the lobby at times," coach Don Casey says. "I'm sure some of my players did, too."

Casey can only hope those are the worst struggles his team faces this season. The Nets, who two years ago were an upstart club that gave Michael Jordan's Bulls three hard-fought games in the first round of the playoffs, produced a season last year that warranted its own X rating. The obscene display was the result of two factors: an overbearing coach, John Calipari, who screamed too much while holding the reins too tight and lost the respect of some players; and the team's dire need for a healthy and productive point guard after Sam Cassell went down with a sprained right ankle in the season's first game. The front office tried to remedy those problems by firing Calipari after a 3-17 start and replacing him with his player-friendly assistant, Casey, and later by acquiring star point guard Stephon Marbury from the Timberwolves. By that time, though, the season was essentially over; there was no way of telling if the changes were sufficient, because injuries to several key players eliminated any chance for the Casey-and-Marbury Nets to prove themselves. "Given the circumstances, what could anyone do?" asks Casey. "As hard as the guys played last year, there's nothing anybody could do when your star players get hurt. So we just took it on the chin and played on."

New Jersey's woes stretched from the beginning of the season, when Cassell crashed, to the final game. On that May 5th night seven Nets were not in uniform because of injuries, including All-Star center Jayson Williams (broken right leg), leading scorer Keith Van Horn (broken left thumb), starting shooting guard Kerry Kitties (right knee injury) and reserve forward Scott Burrell (right knee injury). In the lockout-shortened, 50-game schedule, New Jersey players missed a combined total of 182 games due to injuries, by far the most in the league. Still, there was a silver lining: The Nets, ravaged as they were, played respectably down the stretch, winning 11 of their last 21 games.

"Our fortunes are bound to turn around," says Van Horn, who missed eight games and was the league's fifth-leading scorer last season. "You can't have injury after injury, year after year. Some years are worse than others, and I hope last year was the worst of it for us."

Keep hoping. The injury bug continued to plague New Jersey this fall. Despite spending the summer in the weight room and adding 10 pounds of muscle to his 6'10", 245-pound frame, Van Horn was sidelined for part of camp with a pulled left hamstring and a strained neck. The Nets will also be without Williams, their rebounding specialist, who's recovering from that broken leg and from knee surgeries to fix a torn meniscus and remove a bone particle; he's expected to be sidelined until at least January. Rookie Evan Eschmeyer, expected to help fill in for Williams, had surgery in September to repair a torn muscle in his right shoulder. He, too, won't be back until after the New Year. Center Jim McIlvaine is coming back from left shoulder surgery and had to sit out a portion of camp because of an irregular heartbeat, a condition that has sidelined him in the past.

To fill in at center Casey will use 6'8" Jamie Feick, who averaged 10.3 rebounds in 28 games last season after moving from forward. The Nets also resigned 7'7" ex-Wizard Gheorghe Muresan in the off-season. Although he hasn't played regularly since the 1996-97 season and suffers from chronic back and ankle pain because of previous injuries, the 28-year-old Muresan gives the Nets an intimidator, and he has been impressive in preseason games. "I think his presence and size just baffle people," Van Horn says of Muresan. "He's an unusual guy, and he's going to make unusual plays, but they're effective. Most guys want to just look at how big he is. That's when he surprises you."

The ongoing ailments in the frontcourt make it crucial that the back-court has a robust season. Sherman Douglas, a 12-year veteran who averaged 8.0 points and 4.0 assists a game for the Nets in 1997-98 (and 18.3 points and 8.3 assists in those three playoff games against the Bulls), was re-signed to back up Mar-bury after spending last season with the Clippers. Shooting guard Kendall Gill, who led the league in steals last year (2.68 per game), is happy about moving back to the starting two spot, supplanting Kittles. There will thus be less pressure on Kittles, recovering from off-season knee surgery, to produce immediately; he can round into form by coming off the bench. But he'd best not be too leisurely in doing so: In the past Kittles, a valuable asset as a sixth man, has been criticized privately by teammates for his slow return from injuries.

Mr. Marbury, as the tattoo on his arm reads, is only 22, but he's expected to be this team's leader. Although he won't shout it to the world, Marbury has always wanted a club he could call his own. Despite averaging 21.3 points and ranking third in the league in assists last season, he's out to prove that he made the right decision by forcing a mid-season trade from Minnesota, where he shared top billing with Kevin Garnett. Don't be surprised if he carries his hometown team (well, sort of: He grew up in Brooklyn) on his back just to make that point.

Although the injury problems are not yet behind them, the Nets believe the worst is over. "Everything looks good on paper so far, and that's a plus," says Casey, who was 13-17 after taking over from Calipari. "Now they have to get it done on the court."

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