Brooklyn Nets let head coach P.J. Carlesimo walk

The Brooklyn Nets NBA basketball team has decided to head in a new direction regarding the team’s head coach. The Nets announced on May 5 that interim coach P.J. Carlesimo will be leaving the club since they won’t be offering him the full-time job. Carlesimo was let go just a day after Brooklyn was eliminated from the playoffs and the franchise will now begin searching for a new head coach.

Billy King, the club’s general manager, said the organization would like to thank Carlesimo for everything he’s done for the team as both an assistant and head coach over the years and for the way he represented them on and off of the basketball court. He also wished the former coach and his family success for the future.

The 63-year-old Carlesimo became the club’s interim head coach last December after being promoted from his
position as an assistant coach. He took over from Avery Johnson, who was let go by King after the Nets struggled to a 14-14 record at the start of the season. Carlesimo helped turn the team’s fortunes around when taking over behind the bench and led Brooklyn to a 35-19 record for the rest of the season. The Nets finished in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, but were eliminated from the postseason in the first round by the Chicago Bulls in seven games.

Who is the King of the New York City jungle?

“Baby I’m from New York! Concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there’s nothing you can’t do now you’re in New York!”

As you probably remember, these are the lyrics of one of the biggest hit by Alicia Keys and Jay-Z. New York is a jungle of streets, businesses, people, ethnic groups and so on. From this season, the Big Apple, is also a NBA jungle with two teams from two different boroughs competing for glory. The two teams, of course, are the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets, respectively from Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Brooklyn and Manhattan; Manhattan and Brooklyn. Knicks and Nets; Nets and Knicks.

Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center. The prestige of one of the franchise never to change city and on the other hand the glamour and freshness of novelty.

Deron Williams explains decline in play

Brooklyn Nets’ guard Deron Williams has been something of an enigma since he was traded to the team from the Utah Jazz last season.

Since the trade injuries and decreasing percentages have become a staple of the player that was in many hearts considered to be on the road to a Hall of Fame career.

Williams stuck with the Nets after an intense albeit somewhat brief bidding war for his services erupted once free agency began.

Despite not being quite the player that he was in Utah, Williams believed in the new talent that was coming to town and more specifically what coach Avery Johnson is trying to get done.

His story will get even more unique after his recent comments made to ESPN break wide open.

Brooklyn Nets Return Home and Snap Skid; Beat Los Angeles Clippers 86-76

After losing two straight on their tour through California, the Brooklyn Nets returned home Friday night and beat the Los Angeles Clippers 86-76. It was their third win this season holding their opponent to under 80 points.

-Brook Lopez led all scores with 26 points and had three blocks on the night. Reggie Evans had 12 rebounds off the bench.

-Chris Paul and Blake Griffin each had 14 points for the Clippers, and Griffin add two blocked shots, while Paul led LA with nine assists. DeAndre Jordan had the only double- double on the night with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

-The Brooklyn Backcourt combined for 30 points on the night, and Deron Williams chipped in eight assists.

-The Nets return to action on Sunday, traveling to Portland for a matinee with the Trail Blazers, while the Clippers travel to New Orleans to play the Hornets on Monday.

Dan Benton

Be sure to check out other great articles at Sports Media 101.

Boston Celtics Fall in Brooklyn Without Rajon Rondo

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The Boston Celtics three game winning streak ended Thursday night when they fell to the Brooklyn Nets 102-97 at the Barclays Center. The Celtics were without Rajon Rondo, but got 22 points from Paul Pierce and 17 in a spot start from Leandro Barbosa. On the second night of a back to back Boston floundered early only to storm back in the third quarter, erasing a 13 point deficit to take a slim lead into the fourth. Unfortunately their shooting touch deserted them, allowing the Nets to pull away, and a late Boston rally came up short. Brooklyn was paced by Deron Williams and Brook Lopez, who chipped in 24 points each while Joe Johnson overcame a tough shooting night to total 19. The Celtics saw their three game winning streak snapped, but on the second night of a back to back without their star point guard it was hard to expect anything else.

Avery Johnson Tired of KG knowing all the Nets Plays

After 17 seasons in the NBA, you can pretty much conclude that Kevin Garnett has seen it all.

As the future Hall of Famer has aged over the years, he’s turned himself into one of the premier defenders in the league. His attention to detail has also made him extremely aware of potential plays the opposing offense could be running.

Apparently, Nets coach Avery Johnson is sick of it.

Nets Cruise in Brooklyn, Send Cavs Back to Cleveland with Fifth Road Loss

The Cleveland Cavaliers played their sixth road game in a row against the Brooklyn Nets, and lost 114-101.

The Cavs were down by as much 24 but rallied back to close the deficit to 10 at the end of the third quarter. Instead of pushing for the comeback with the starters in, coach Byron Scott left Anderson Varejao and Kyrie Irving sitting on the bench. Joe Johnson came off the bench and earned  some of his max contract scoring 16 points in the fourth to help close the game.

The story for Cleveland was Anderson Varejao who finished with a career-high 35 points to go with 18 rebounds. He was an absolute monster all night. He seemed to be around the ball at all times, and in the early goings was the only one who could score for the Cavs. Kyrie Irving caught on later, and had himself a night as well, putting up 34 points. 

Deron Williams had his best game, finishing with 26 points and ten assists. Combined with Joe Johnson, the Nets backcourt accounted for 51 points. With these two players at the top of their game the Nets can compete with anyone in the league.

Nets Defeat Raptors in Home-Opener Despite Hurricane Sandy Aftermath

Amidst the tragedy that was Hurricane Sandy, the Nets took on the Toronto Raptors Saturday night officially opening up the Barclays Center with a 107-100 victory.

It was a proud day for owners Mikhail Prokhorov, who saw his Nets team finally open up the Brooklyn stadium after two years of building.

Brook Lopez lead the way for the Nets with 27 points and five rebounds, while Deron Williams started where he left off from in the Olympics tallying 19 points and nine assists.

The Nets came out slow falling behind to the Raptors 35-27 after the first quarter. The Raptors used a barrage of three-point goals by Kyle Lowry (28 points eight assists eight rebounds) to silence the rowdy Brooklyn crowd.