By DavidKaye
Friday, May 18th, 2007 might have been the last time Vince Carter took the court as a member of the New Jersey Nets.
After falling to the Cavs at home 88-72, the Nets lost their best of seven series by the count of 4-2. They had the opportunity to tie up the series in front of their home fans, but LeBron James and his teammates made sure there would be no game seven .
With free agency looming, it is possible that Carter might be too expensive for New Jersey to keep and he would have to look elsewhere if he wants to receive the estimated three-year, $60 million contract that he has been rumored to be asking for.
After being down by twenty-two points in the first half New Jersey mounted a fierce comeback in the third quarter, but it was not enough to prolong the series. The Nets went on a 14-0 run in the quarter and trimmed Cleveland's lead to 61-60 going into the fourth.
But LeBron James and veteran Donyell Marshall were too much for the undersized Nets who ended up losing the game by sixteen points. Marshall, who celebrated his 34th birthday yesterday, was all smiles as he went six for ten from behind the ark and finished the game with eighteen points. Superstar LeBron James scored twenty-three points, grabbed eight rebounds and had eight assists to advance to his first ever Eastern Conference Finals.
When the Nets look back on their season they will find disappointment in the fact that they were not able to accomplish their goal of reaching the NBA finals, but at the same time Lawrence Frank and his players reached the playoffs for the sixth straight season. After upsetting the third seeded Raptors' in the first-round, New Jersey gave a valiant effort against a much better Cavaliers team.
Due to a season-ending injury to 23-year old center Nenad Krstic and chronic aliments to forward Richard Jefferson the Nets were not able to secure a higher seed in the playoffs. Their window of opportunity to reach the finals might have ended last night with the possibility of Vince Carter leaving due to free agency and Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson being traded. These three players represented one of the best tandems in the league and it's unfortunate that they were not able to reach their full potential together.
Notes: Point guard Jason Kidd averaged 14.6 points, 10.9 rebounds and 10.9 assists over the Nets' playoff run. He joins NBA legend Oscar Robinson as the only two players to average a triple double during the playoffs.
