For Starters

Bonjour from Paris. Actually, what’s up from New Jersey.

It only felt like we were in Paris this afternoon because we got some flavor and culture from France and from the coach of the Nets.

Since none of the beats traveled to Europe, the Nets are kind enough to set up conference calls with coaches and players, etc. After some phone difficulties, Lawrence Frank finally got on the call today and told us everything from the starting lineup to the rotation to how many wins he thinks the Nets will have this year.

Actually, he did none of that. He only went to Paris. He didn’t become another person.

The starters for tomorrow’s 2 p.m. preseason opener (ESPN2) against the Heat will be Vince Carter, Devin Harris and three other guys. That’s basically what he said, as expected, all three times he was asked.

Who’s starting?
“We’ll have to work that out tomorrow.”

A few questions later…Do you have an idea who’s starting?
“I have a little bit of an idea. To be quite frank, I haven’t told the team so I wouldn’t tell you before I tell them.”

A little while later...Would you be opposed to starting a rookie tomorrow?
“Why not? We’re going to look at all combinations throughout the preseason. Devin and Vince are fixtures, but we will look at all combinations. I won’t tell you the starting lineup because I haven’t told them. But who starts tomorrow I wouldn’t read terribly into it. It’s just the lineup for the first game. The second game might be different.”

So, it’s Carter and Harris, probably Josh Boone and Bobby Simmons and the question remains whether it’s Sean Williams, Ryan Anderson or Yi Jianlian.

I think eventually it will be Yi, but they are high on Anderson. He also is valuable in the dribble-drive as the guy to kick it out to, but so is Yi, who be in the starting lineup opening night, barring injury.

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Speaking of Yi, he’s now been through five full practices – although one was non-contact. We asked Frank how he’s doing thus far?

“Good,” Frank said. “I think he’s shown signs. You can’t simulate missing practice especially with what we’re doing requires five guys to be on the same page. He has a very high basketball IQ, but the rhythm and the timing - not just him but all the guys - is going to take a long time.

“But he comes as advertised and we look forward to going through the whole process because we think he can be a very special player.”

***
Keyon Dooling, who missed the first week-plus with a sprained left ankle, went through his first full practice as a Net today. Naturally, Frank said he looked good. He won’t know until tomorrow if Dooling will be able to go.

One guy who won’t is Jarvis Hayes. His hamstring isn’t improving. He tried to go today, but it tightened up on him again. Frank said Hayes doesn’t want to push it because he’s afraid it will worsen.

“I don’t want to put words in his mouth, but I think when he feels it’s tight that maybe he’s afraid if he goes that not that it necessarily will pop but it just doesn’t feel right,” Frank said. “It’s a strain and it’s only been six days. It’s going to take time.”

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The preseason means little to the players, but for the coaches it's a chance to see what lineups work best, what the rotations should be, how many players should be in the rotation, who should be the trapping unit, etc. It's more so for this group since only three players remain from the team that was here when the calendar turned to 2008.

"We've got a lot of things we've got to find out and it's going to be an evolving process," Frank said. "But there are a lot things we have to find out during the preseason."

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Frank said they haven’t seen anything yet, but planned to go to the Louvre tonight. The Nets also will take a team photo at the Eiffel Tower.