New Look: New New Jersey Nets, Will the new look be enough to return to glory?

As the Dog days of summer are upon us and Baseball season begins its final push the focus now turns to Fall and Winter sports such as Football and Basketball.  Football which will start in about a month will be sitting alone until Basketball kicks off in October just as the World Series is ending.  Now being a New Yorker you may wonder why would i care about the New Jersey Nets?  I became a New Jersey Net fan when i first became a fan of the game of basketball.  I have been a fan ever since through all the high points and more recently the low points.

During the last year I was disappointed with the trade of my favorite player Jason Kidd but I do understand why Kidd wanted out.  The team had failed to advance any further than the 2nd round in the 2006 playoffs and the ownership kept trading away key players every season.  This past year was no different in the trade for Kidd and then the off season trade of Richard Jefferson.  This year's Nets looks nothing like the Nets of last year except for a few key players returning, the success now rests on the shoulders of Vince Carter to lead the new look Nets to the top of a very difficult Atlantic division.

Many times last season the onus was on Carter to perform and he did but not consistently enough to suit the large contract that the Nets gave him.  Now the spotlight solely falls on him as we enter the 2008-2009 Basketball season.  Surrounded by returning players Kristic, Nachbar, Boone, Armstrong and former Net Keith Van Horn everyone else is relatively new to the scene.  There is a lot of questions surrounding the health of Kristic and if forward Yi can perform under the big light of New York/ New Jersey area.

The biggest challengefor the Nets is unseating the current NBA champsand containing the three headed monster known as Pierce, Garnnet andAllen.  The Nets have built a decent coreand the possible starting line is Carterand either Armstrong or Harris playing the guard position, Yiand Van Horn at Forwardand Kristic at center.  It is no doubting that the Nets are definitely larger than last year but will it be enough.  That will be the question on every Nets fan as we enter the season as hope rests on Vince Carter's shoulders. Will inconsistencylead us to miss the playoffs again or will be restored to the glory days of Kidd and Kittles?