| Say It Ain’t Zo, Nets Authored by Graham Flashner - April 27, 2005 - 2:34 am
This one had to hurt. The Nets didn’t get burned by Shaquille O’Neal or Dwayne Wade, but by a 35 year-old, 6’10’ headache who they couldn’t get rid of fast enough, once the headache became a migraine.
They got burned by the same guy who, after a kidney transplant and a shaky future that had left him with zero market value, was rewarded with a $22 million contract in order to meet the demands of Jason Kidd, in his free-agent year.
The same guy who soon turned out to be a $22 million bust, unable to fit in with teammates or recapture a fraction of his old, dominating days, when he was known simply as ‘Zo’.
The same guy who showed his gratitude for his team’s generosity and patience by complaining bitterly about wanting to play for a contender, after the Nets dumped Kenyon Martin and Kerry Kittles in cost-cutting moves.
The same guy who, after the Nets sent off to basketball oblivion in Toronto, resurfaced in Miami, reborn and rejuvenated. Yes, that was Alonzo Mourning pounding the boards and killing the Nets in the paint last night, scoring 21 points and leading the Heat to a 104-87 victory and a 2-0 lead in the NBA playoffs.
For fans of irony, last night was a lesson in karmic payback. The Nets season turned around in January, when they stole Vince Carter from the team he admitted not trying very hard for, the Toronto Raptors. 12-24 to that point, they finished 30-16, and made the playoffs on the last day of the season, as outraged Raptors fans rooted for their demise.
It was the most one-sided deal since the Lakers Shaq giveaway to Miami. One of the players included in that deal was the Nets’ own malcontent – Mourning.
The Raptors never even expected Mourning to play for them, and he didn’t. Carter had been replaced by two anonymous forwards named Williams, and looked at that point like less of a contender than the salary-depleted Nets. Mourning wanted to finish his career with a winner, and the Heat were only too happy to oblige.
The Nets never expected that it would be Mourning, not Shaq, who would be their undoing in a playoff game. Happy now to be a role player, Mourning added 9 rebounds to go with his scoring outburst, and was instrumental defensively in helping contain the one guy the Heat were supposedly going to be unable to stop: Carter, who scored a quiet 21 points on 6-16 shooting, and has been a non-factor thus far.
So far, nothing the Nets have done has worked. They’ve tried small lineups and big lineups, zone defenses and double-teams. They keyed on Shaq in Game 1, allowing the perimeter shooters to run wild. In Game 2, Miami’s depth prevailed, as their ‘role’ players tallied 73 points, enabling Shaq and Wade to get plenty of rest.
The Nets will undoubtedly come out with more passion when the series shifts back to New Jersey, and Mourning can expect a roasting from the home crowd. But Zo will likely have the last laugh, playing deep into May, and possibly June, long after Jason Kidd and the Nets have gone home to contemplate another summer of change. |
