SPORTS WITH 3

By: Noah Miller

The Brooklyn Nets have been a toss-up early, and holes continue to show. I recently asked on Twitter, what you would grade (1-10) the Nets on their chemistry. I got numerous responses, and here are three:

1. "Not comfortable with them at all; they're in the same division as my beloved Knicks."

2.  "I am going with 8!! They have size, interior scoring, prime PG, bench is good on occasion. My concern is Johnson."

3. "The Nets are a 6.5. I like how they are playing early. I just know that Johnson has a tendency to fade away at the wrong time."

Joe Johnson's Lack of Supremacy

Two out of three responses mentioned SG Joe Johnson, and they came out and told me how he has been failed at the wrong times. If the Nets got Johnson for a reliable performer, they made a wrong decision. In my mind, Johnson makes impressive plays at wrong times. You may be thinking. "How can Johnson make a bad play at the wrong times?" First, he plays incredible when the Nets play terrible teams. For example: He scored 22 points against the Orlando Magic, but Magic lost a lot of potential due to losing Dwight Howard. If you look at Johnson's performance against the Knicks, only 8 points and 3 assists. You may say he is aging, but if he is aging why did the Nets get him! As I said before, the Nets got Johnson to be reliable; it was a bad choice. Johnson also takes a high amount of shots, but he has lowered his shots over the course of the his career.  Also, he doesn't play amusing defense for a shooting guard. He barely steals, if he does it's only once or twice a game. A shooting guard's responsibility is to steal. If you look at an elite shooting guard per se Kobe Bryant; racking up easily 2-3 steals a game. Johnson is not a Kobe Bryant at any level, but Bryant is someone to be like. I grade Johnson's performances lately a 4 out of 10, because he hasn't lived up to shooting guard's attributes. 

Deron Williams Missing Aspect

PG Deron Williams came into the season being an eminence commander of the Nets, but he is missing a trait. Williams plays his position properly, and he models a classic point-guard. Williams fits Phil Jackson's quote, "Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength." Williams is a wise player on the court; avoiding turnovers is his key. His role on the court is to PASS before SCORING himself, and that should be every point-guard's motto. William's missing aspect is that he needs to score too. If you look at Rajon Rondo, he assists and scores. Williams will need to balance his scoring and his assisting to a certain level. I would be comfortable if Williams scored 18+ PPG (Points-Per-Game). Another way to fix the missing link is for SF Gerald Wallace and PF Kris Humphries to lower their shots taken. Wallace is taking too many shots, and is missing a lot. Humphries also takes too many shots, and that will cost the whole team. The Nets will need to balance out the shots taken and the assists to be a threat. I rate Williams leadership and overall performances a 7 out of 10, only because he needs to make that balance.

To conclude, I rank the Nets a 6 out of 10 due to the missing links and roles. If the Nets fix the missing links they will be HUGE threat in the NBA.