Little big men

Sporting News, The, Jan 26, 1998 by John Brennan

With a small front line as their foundation, the Nets are throwing off bigger opponents and taking shape as a playoff team

There are nights when center Jayson Williams wonders if he's out of his mind trying to keep up with the league's giants.

One such night came in late November, when Williams, who is listed as 6-10--he actually is 6-9 1/2--and 240, gave away about six inches and 50 pounds when he matched up with Portland's Arvydas Sabonis. After the game, Williams staggered off the court looking as if he had been hit by a Winnebago.

"He must be about 7-foot-5 (he's listed at 7-3), and his head alone weighs about 90 pounds," Williams says, still wincing as he recalls the encounter. "There are games like that where you just get so exhausted.

"But I'd rather be dead tired and win 50 games and sit in the pool all summer, than not be tired and only win 30 games."

If the Nets' undersized front line of Williams, rookie Keith Van Horn and Kendall Gill can survive defensively the way they have in the first half of the season, Williams will find a postseason trip cutting into some of his offseason free time. Although the trio of Davids has taken a few lickings against some Goliaths, the three have won more battles than they have lost and are a major reason New Jersey is one the rise, having ended last week at 20-17 with an eye on second place in the Atlantic.

Williams has been bodying up against bigger centers so well that not only is he vying for the league lead in rebounding, he is often outscoring his taller opponents.

Van Horn, 6-10, matches up in height against most opponents at power forward, but at a lanky 220 pounds, he doesn't match up in strength. Still, he is such an offensive talent that he, too, routinely outscores--and sometimes outrebounds--his man.

Kendall Gill, 6-5, somehow is finding a way to succeed at small forward after spending his pre-Nets career as a shooting guard and occasional point guard. In a recent game against Minnesota, Gill's head barely reached the "Timberwolves" scrip on 6-11 Kevin Garnett's uniform. But after their meeting, Gill walked off the court having won the scoring battle, 20-14. Last week in a meeting with Charlotte, Gill helped hold 6-8 Glen Rice scoreless in the second half.

What makes this frontcourt particularly noteworthy is the Nets aren't merely trying to survive with a patchwork lineup. Flying in the face of traditional thinking, coach John Calipari is bold enough to say that all three players are playing their proper NBA positions.

"People are looking at a guy's stature when what you have to look at is heart. How big do they play?" Calipari says emphatically. "I want killers. If you have killers, you win, no matter what their size."

Sounds awfully collegiate, doesn't it? Well, remember that it has been less than two years since Calipari left the University of Massachusetts to bring his missionary zeal to the NBA.

And how that he has the players he wants (Van Horn, Gill, Williams, starting guards Kerry Kittles and Sam Cassell and sixth man Chris Gatling), Calipari has grand dreams that this core can someday become a contender.

Before anybody starts laughing, remember that if not for a rugged schedule (a dozen pairs of back-to-back games in the first half) and for injuries that have caused Van Horn, Gatling and Kittles to miss more than 40 games combined, the Nets might be recognized as the league's biggest surprise.

How can this front line that even Calipari admits is "undersized" possibly hold up in a giant-loving league?

Off to the front

On defense, the biggest reason the NEts are able to succeed is they front the post extensively.

The team's rationale is that a conventional approach (positioning a defender between his opponent and the basket) often plays into the hands of teams with quality big men.

The Nets say, "Why allow them to get the ball at all? Let's deny the entry pass."

So Williams, Van Horn and Gill spend their energy not on getting backed down in the lane, but on racing around bigger players.

The fronting strategy is similar to the one that former SuperSonics assistant Bob Kloppenburg developed in Seattle in the late '80--so much so that Kloppenburg, now an assistant in Toronto, says he feels flattered when he watches film of the Nets.

If the three front effectively, they prevent any incoming passes from being sent to the post. That's important, because many teams set up their perimeter game by working the ball inside first.

It helps that point guard Cassell brings a solid knowledge of defense from his three seasons in Houston and that Kittles is a gifted defender. The Nets are among the league leaders in steals because Gill, Cassell and Kittles all have the instincts to reach out a hand at the proper time against a harried ballhandler who's looking to pass.

But if this defense is so great, some may say, then why isn't everybody using it? Partly because if you have a shot-blocking center such as Dikembe Mutombo or Hakeem Olajuwon, there already is an impediment to easy baskets. The Nets can offer of such obstacle.