Tom Brennan: THE BROOKLYN NETS AND..JEFF MCNEIL??
I've been a Nets hoops fan since they were Dr J's Long Island Nets.
The Nets have always been second fiddle in the papers to the Knicks, much like the Islanders are to the Rangers, and to a lesser degree like the Mets are to the Yankees.
The Nets pulled off some of the worst trades in sports history about 5 years ago, crippling their team.
Bear with me as I go along here, as I am using figures from memory and not looking them back up right now. Whether 100% exact or not, they are close enough for the point of this story.
They changed the GM and coach, and despite not having their own first round pick for 5 straight years (I believe it was 5), started to turn things around last year, going 28-54. This year, they started out a promising 6-6, then their best player (at the time) Caris Lavert suffered what looked like a Joe Theisman injury, but it turned out to be much less severe, making him likely to only miss half this season.
After that injury, the young fighting squad lost a bunch of tough games and fell to 8-18. Season over, clearly. Lottery pick, here we come.
Well, not exactly - they've won a blistering 18 of 23 since, the hottest team in the NBA, by having players with talent (but not any superstars) play their darned tails off, with a full commitment to winning, clawing and fighting each and every night.
The Mets, despite a similar encouraging start to 2018, going 11-1, went 29-58 over their next 87 games and were at a disastrous 40-59 when Jeff McNeil joined the Mets.
His scrappy hustle and amazing hitting (.329) helped ignite the Mets, along with resurgent Zach Wheeler. The Mets over the final 63 games were a terrific 37-26.
Jay Bruce, Brandon Nimmo, Amed Rosario, and Michael Conforto all hit better once McNeil arrived. Coincidence? My theory? One factor for all 4 was having McNeil hit like crazy and take some pressure off them, and also bring out the competitor in them. This newbie is showing us up!
I think Jeff McNeil's impact on the 2018 team was not a fluke, and if the team is smart, he will play very frequently, whether in the infield or the outfield.
Having played some outfield in college, and having a whole off season to prepare for the likelihood of playing in the outfield, I see no reason why this mostly-infielder can't be entirely competent in the outfield. Even above average.
Winners can adapt, and the former golfer who transformed his hitting from high average slap to high average with real power has shown great ability to adapt. All while not striking out, which makes him a rarity in baseball for anyone with any sort of power.
Heck, many felt his defense at second when called up would be shaky. What did the actual fielding results prove? They were DEAD WRONG - he did fine in the field.
He's a winner - he improves - he adapts - and if he played NBA caliber basketball, he would fit right in on the winning Brooklyn Nets.
As an aside, I saw Dr J in a few games in the last ABA finals against Denver. Words cannot express how amazing he was.
ReplyDeleteGreat hour long video on the ABA with tons of DR J - not the Mets, but a great watch.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0OuHgr18Cc
Tom -
ReplyDeleteFirst, there was Danny Muno...
Then Tim Tebow...
Now Jeff McNeil...
Who is next?
Not sure, but there will be someone, that much I can tell u, and he will be so great, so great.
ReplyDeleteI'm counting on Junior Santos, actually
Love the Julius Erving reference..........Dr J got me into watching professional basketball, only it was during his 76ers time line. He was the Michael Jordan/LeBron James of his day, for sure.
ReplyDeleteOnto your point, you mention the impact JM had on the team and how unsung players like that help to drive a contender to greater heights, which is interesting. In a semi-related way, you are speaking to roster depth and "playing the game hard", which the current Red Sox did quite well last year (and I think is a loose model that BVW is following).
Spread the depth around versus investing in a superstar or two.
Should be quite interesting as 2019 unfolds and we see if this approach works or not.
I grew up watching the street rivalries of Connie Hawkins vs. Roger Brown.
ReplyDeleteBoys High vs. Wingate for the city championship in the old Garden.
Dr. J used to share my opinion of these two.
Followed those guys (Hawkins/Brown) those days too. Their classic battle was in the semis, which BH won though Brown outscored Hawkins something like 38-19. Boys beat Columbus in the finals.
ReplyDeleteHawkins/Brown...nice.
ReplyDeleteI was awestruck with Dr J in the finals.
Also loved him driving like a laser to the basket and dunking before Artis Gilmore could react. Artis got there late, but just in time for the dunked ball to bounce of his head!
DOING those inhuman dunks made me call him the Pterodactyl.