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A little insight into Vince Carter from the Nets' point of view

06/28/09 | by Zach McCann [mail] | Categories: Interviews

UPDATE: I answered some questions about the trade over at Nets are Scorching. Check it out here.

There's been a lot of discussion about Vince Carter over the past couple of days, but let's face it — most people around these parts are judging Carter off statistics, the national media and maybe a handful of games. Except for a select few, not many of us have actually watched Carter for a large-enough sample size to make an informed and valid evaluation.

So, who better to offer some insight than a Nets fan, who's watched Carter play several times a week for the past four years? Sebastian Pruiti, who writes for TrueHoop's Nets are Scorching, was kind enough to answer a few questions. Thanks to Sebastian for taking the time.

Orlando Magic Daily: How do you feel about the trade?

Sebastian Pruiti: I am sad about the trade, but it is something that had to be done. I would have liked to see the team make one final playoff push before blowing stuff up, but that is really unrealistic. If we would have waited any longer, I don't think we would have gotten the value for Vince that we did. I am really happy with what we got in this deal. I think Rod and Kiki did a great job exploiting (playing on if you want to be nice about it) the fears and emotions of the Magic. With all their worrying about Hedo and the Cavs getting Shaq, the Magic felt like they had to make a move, and because of that, I think Rod milked the Magic for all they were worth in this deal.

Excited to have Courtney? Absolutely. I know I have mentioned it to some friends, and maybe in some e-mail exchanges between the network, but he showed a swagger that not many rookies have (in the playoffs, no less). He seems like a perfect complement for players like Devin Harris, CDR, and now Terrence Williams.

Sad to see Vince go? Of course. I even wrote an open letter to the man! But I wasn't THAT sad, if you know what I mean, mainly because I was bracing for this deal to happen for a real long time. Another thing that I am disappointed about is losing Ryan Anderson. At the beginning of the year, I thought the kid was going to be a bust, but he ended up starting 30+ games as a rookie, and he played very well. He is a shooter who can spread the floor (perfect for the pick and pop), but he can also rebound, which is very surprising when you look at him. He is more athletic than you think, but he does struggle with his handle. I would like to see him develop into a solid player as a Net, but that isn't going to happen. I am also disappointed as a blogger because there won't be anymore Brook and Ryan Halloween videos.

OMD: Do you feel there are any misconceptions about Vince around the league?

Sebastian Pruiti: There are many misconceptions about Vince. Granted, coming out of Toronto these were all valid criticisms of VC's game, but he changed into a completely different player in New Jersey. The mainstream Media didn't notice because New Jersey is so under-the-radar at this point, so whenever his name comes up they just go back to the old criticisms.

Vince is fragile? False. He has only missed 11 games in 4 years.

Vince is selfish? False. He had no problem taking a step back and letting Devin Harris be the focal point of our new offense last year (if he would have he would have been traded instead of Richard Jefferson, who did have a problem).

Not clutch? False. Just watch the highlights from the Raptors-Nets game last year.

The one criticism that could be made is that he still settles for the jumper way too much. That has made me loony over the past 4 years, but you learn to live with it, especially on nights when he can't miss (which are more often then you think). I also don't think you have to worry about him being a headcase, especially because he is playing in his hometown. I don't see him being a problem.

OMD: Do you fear the Magic more or less than you did before the trade?

Sebastian Pruiti: I do, because of both VC and Ryan Anderson. Vince is a guy who you can give the ball to and let him play. The Magic really didn't have anything like that to my knowledge. I mean Hedo did it at times, but it seems like he would expend so much effort to get himself a shot. Ryan Anderson will be able to spread the floor for you guys in your second unit, and he fits your system very well. You can also play big. The line-up of Jameer Nelson/VC/Lewis/Anderson/Howard is pretty scary if you ask me. Mismatches everywhere.

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15 comments, 41 trackbacks

Comment from: D12FSU [Visitor]
this has eased my mind
06/28/09 @ 07:46
Comment from: jb73 [Visitor]
I'm really hoping this pays off next year, with jameer back our offense should be able to hang with anyone. If Vince will play hard on defense and Ryan can defend on the perimeter atleast as good as hedo, we should be better than last year.
06/28/09 @ 09:05
Comment from: orlbball29 [Visitor]
i agree with jb73 and i was thinking the magic werent going to have any chance now that shaq went to the cavs then the magic got vc and now i am very confident that the magic will get the #1 eastern spot for the playoffs even if they dont get hedo back
06/28/09 @ 09:53
Comment from: jweird2steps [Visitor]
well said. this is so true. Im a vc fan so ive watched almost all of his games. When he got traded, i switched to orlandomagicdaily.com as source for my vince carter news. I couldnt believe what the people were saying about him. People say he's selfish, always injured, not a leader. Those accusations are all false. The media has a lot to do with it. Toronto media to be exact. There are still some flaws to his game like taking jumpshots when he can drive, but to be honest, the biggest asset that u can get from vince is his playmaking. He's better than hedo when it comes to playmaking. I wouldnt be surprised if his assist total increases to 7 per game coz orlando has so many shooters, and vc is a willing passer. He's also a good locker room guy. I think jj redick would become more valuable because of vc's presence. to the diehard magic fans, watch vc's game first. youre gonna love it.
06/28/09 @ 09:55
Comment from: jweird2steps [Visitor]
also, about vc's defense, people that say he's a liability obviously do not watch him play. Vince is probably not a lockdown defender , like bowen or posey, but he's an above average defender and an excellent team defender. He's also a good help defender and he can guard all 4 positions(just ask chris bosh). watch vc first.
06/28/09 @ 10:01
Comment from: jweird2steps [Visitor]
well said. this is so true. Im a vc fan so ive watched almost all of his games. When he got traded, i switched to orlandomagicdaily.com as source for my vince carter news. I couldnt believe what the people were saying about him. People say he's selfish, always injured, not a leader. Those accusations are all false. The media has a lot to do with it. Toronto media to be exact. There are still some flaws to his game like taking jumpshots when he can drive, but to be honest, the biggest asset that u can get from vince is his playmaking. He's better than hedo when it comes to playmaking. I wouldnt be surprised if his assist total increases to 7 per game coz orlando has so many shooters, and vc is a willing passer. He's also a good locker room guy. I think jj redick would become more valuable because of vc's presence. to the diehard magic fans, watch vc's game first. youre gonna love it.
06/28/09 @ 11:04
Comment from: Zartan [Visitor]
Vince is a good defender but he will drive you up a wall when he see a man driving and could probaly help but stands pat with his man so there wont be a pass off.(wont gamble)

Vince doesnt dunk as electrifying as before but he will come to play this year and i think it makes them even with the celtic with a healthy K.G. If the old lazy Shaq shows up in Clevland, this team will win it all.

i always felt V.C will win a championship so baybe its with the magic.
06/28/09 @ 14:16
Comment from: RvM [Visitor] Email
if you truly have any misconceptions about VC, here's a post from a huge Vince Carter fan, explaining the real VC

-------------------

I think it’s time for someone to clear up the misconceptions about Vince Carter once and for all. After he was traded today I spent a lot of time reading people’s thoughts about Vince on many different boards including the general board and of course the Orlando board. I saw that there’s so many misconceptions about him floating around still and I think now that he’s back in the limelight it’s time to clear up these misconceptions.

First, lets start off with the worst misconception and that is the “Vince is injury prone” misconception. In the last 5 years Vince has played 77, 79, 82, 76 and 80 games. So in the past 5 years he’s missed a total of 15 games. In those 15 games, I believe 3 of them were because the coach sat him out to rest him for the playoffs or because the season was pretty much over. So that means he’s only missed 12 games due to actual injury. Therefore in the past 5 years he has played in more regular season games than Kobe, Wade, Joe Johnson, Ray Allen, Allen Iverson, Paul Pierce, Manu Ginobili and many other all-star calibre SG’s/players.

Next misconception we have is the “Vince is only a scorer.” Since Vince has gone to NJ he has become one of the most complete SG’s in the league. He’s averaged basically over 21 PPG / 5 RPG / 5 APG in year he’s been in NJ. Last season when he averaged over 20/5/5 he was one of only THREE players in the league to do that. The other 2 players who did it were LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. The only other player who is usually in the 20/5/5+ company is Dwyane Wade. So as you can see that’s an elite company of players that average 20/5/5+ that Vince is apart of. Vince is also one of the most underrated passer’s in the league. He’ll find an open shooter every time down the floor. It’s no surprise why players like Bobby Simmons and Keyon Dooling shot career high’s in 3 pt % this year playing with Vince. All they had to do was sit in the corner waiting for him to pass it and hit open shots. I said during the playoffs that if the Magic had Vince he would make Dwight into a true superstar because the Magic run the same offense as the Nets. The offense I’m talking about is the screen and roll with the ball handler at the top of the 3 point line and the big man rolling to the basket. I said it during a Magic playoff game that the difference between how Vince runs it and how Hedo runs it is Vince always makes sure that the big man is the first option from the screen and roll. Whereas Hedo would always look away from Dwight and jack up a 3 or pass it to another 3 point shooter. Vince made a living with Nenad Krstic, Mikki Moore and Brook Lopez last year using this screen and roll offense. He always found them for an open dunk or an open jumper and if he didn’t he would make the proper play for himself or another teammate. Mark my words, Vince is going to turn Dwight into a true superstar player this season.

Next misconception, “Vince’s is old and lost his athleticism, he’s not that good anymore.” Well beside the fact that he’s only one of a few players in the league that consistently averages 20/5/5+, he’s still a top 5 SG in the league. The only SG’s over him right now are Kobe, Wade, Roy and Johnson. Secondly, while a lot of people say he’s old and lost his athleticism, sure he’s lost a lot of it compared to when he was young but he’s still one of the most athletic players in the league. Just watch these videos from this past year and tell me this guy still isn’t athletic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTI-z0j9J-g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2PUXGwNvGM

Next misconception, “Vince can only dunk.” Well seeing as how some people are still living in 2000 and not 2009, I’ll let the cat out of the bag; Vince is one of the best shooters in the league. Vince is a career 38% 3 pt shooter and has shot over 40% from 3 in 3 seasons in his career. The only other all-star SG’s in the league right now who have shot over 40% from 3 in 3 or more seasons in their career are: Ray Allen. Only Ray Allen, who’s made a career from his shooting is the only other all-star SG that has shot over 40% from 3 in 3 or more seasons in their career. Vince also has unlimited range, here’s a few clips of his range:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzbgakGB7ZQ (made 5 according to video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzM11_oN0ts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MGkufgRZvM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EI-_3TzheJA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsHTlYQU1Lc

Next misconception, “Vince is a loser and is not a leader.” So first of all, Vince is a loser. The thing with Vince is he’s never played on a great team before and now he’s finally going to get that chance. When he played on Toronto he was surrounded by a good core of veterans but he was the only scorer on that team. He took that team who’s second leading scorer was Antonio Davis to 1 shot from the ECF against the #1 seeded 76ers. Some will say he played with great teams in NJ but that’s false. He played with good teams, not great teams. When he first got to NJ he (along with Kidd) carried a team consisting of players like Jason Collins, a rookie Krstic, Brian Scalabrine, Billy Thomas, Ron Mercer, Jabari Smith, Jacque Vaughan, Zoran Planinic, Travis Best and Rodney Buford to the playoffs. Just think about that for a second, the amount of players from that team that are still in the NBA can be counted on 1 hand. Either way, Vince played with good NJ teams, not great NJ teams. He has never lost with HCA in the playoffs but has beat 2 teams without HCA. Every team he’s lost to in the playoffs has either made it to the ECF (Miami Heat), Finals (76ers, Cavs) or won the NBA championship (Miami Heat) so he’s always lost to the better team.

As far as his leadership is concerned, he has become an amazing leader for young players. This season the Nets were supposed to be the worst team in the league but instead Vince brought a positive attitude from the beginning of the summer before the season to the end of the season. When the rookies and the team were playing in the Summer league in Orlando, he invited the whole team over to his house to get to know them and make their transition to the NBA easier. After the Jason Kidd trade he became the leader of the Nets and very good leader who has helped the young players on that team and really helped Devin Harris. This is what Thorn said about him, "His leadership was the best it's been since he's been here," Thorn said. "He always took a backseat to Jason when it came to those kinds of things. I think he considered it Jason's team, which it was. But his leadership qualities really came to the (forefront). I can't say enough about him. I think he played absolutely great from the time of the trade (on)."

Last misconception, “Vince is a bad defender.” Vince is actually a very adequate defender. At times he may seem bad but that’s because he has had to carry the offensive load on pretty much every team he’s been on since his career started. He’s never been fortunate enough to play with a team of great offensive players so that he could spend more energy on D. Now that he’s going to be playing on a great offensive team he’ll be able to spend more energy on D and people will be able to see he’s a much better defender than given credit for. When Vince tries on defense which he will be doing much more now that he’s going to be very motivated he is a very good defender. Vince and Kobe don’t like each other very much so when Vince plays against Kobe he D’s him up as well as anyone in the league. Since Carter has been in NJ and played against the Lakers these are the nights Kobe has had:

14-36 = .389%
9-24 = .375%
8-24 = .333%
4-13 = .308%
7-21 = .333%
3-13 = .231%
5-17 = .294%
5-19 = .263%
55- 167 = .329%

So as you can see when Vince wants to D up he can be a pretty good defender. Anyways this has been a pretty long post and I hope people read it over and hopefully the misconceptions attached to Vince will go away. Go ahead and critisize Vince if he doesn’t succeed with the Magic because this is the first time he’s had a great team but I think it’s time to get over these misconceptions about him from the past.
--------------
-Mad Balla 15
06/28/09 @ 16:02
Comment from: jweird2steps [Visitor]
Mad Balla 15. Youre exactly right and we share the same exact observations. I bet you watch almost all the games too because if you didn't, you wouldn't be able to say all those facts about vince's game. It's funny how they have a lot of misconceptions about vc here in orlandomagicdaily. But you said it well. I noticed that part about kobe's bad games against new jersey. Nicely done.
06/28/09 @ 16:43
Comment from: Zach McCann [Member] Email
Awesome post. Thanks to the Nets fans who have offered their insight on Vince Carter. It's much appreciated.
06/28/09 @ 17:07
Comment from: Billy [Visitor]
I honestly think most of the skepticism from the trade doesn't stem from dislike of Vince Carter so much as it does the feeling from trading away Courtney Lee. He was a fan favorite among a lot of people here, and you guys are getting a very good young player who will grow into nothing less than a good starter for years.

Some people still have misconceptions about Vince, but most people are just really sad to see Courtney go. He was my honestly my favorite player (along with Rashard) from this team last year, because he never backed down and was always willing to take his lumps to get better. In the ECF, he got blocked on a breakaway lay-up by LeBron. What did he do next time? He threw it down over him on the same exact type of play. In a regular season game against Philly, they were leaving him open and he could not hit the ocean the first 3 quarters. But he didn't let that get to him and kept on shooting, scored double-digits in the 4th and led a comeback for a last second win. He always brought everything he had, and I was looking forward to a long career in Orlando. Good luck to him now.
06/28/09 @ 17:53
Comment from: Derek [Visitor]
Sounds like a lot of you guys do not remember a young man by the name of Trevor Ariza who the Magic traded away. Trevor Ariza ended up being a huge part of the Lakers NBA Finals series win against the Magic. Where are Maurice Evans and Brian Cook now???? The Magic just traded one the most promising draft picks in recent franchise history aside from Nelson. I know the Nets are not in any position to make the playoffs but honestly.... Where is Vince Carter going to be in two years. What if the Magic don't do well with Carter? I am going to be skeptic of this trade until the Magic prove me wrong.
06/28/09 @ 20:19
Comment from: Billy [Visitor]
I sincerely hope you weren't comparing Vince Carter to Maurice Evans or Brian Cook... That's just ignorant.
06/28/09 @ 20:54
Comment from: afallingbomb28 [Member] Email
Trevor Ariza was only vital in like 1 of those games, maybe 2.
06/28/09 @ 21:16
Comment from: JCLL [Visitor]
Ariza was key at the right moment, which is all that counts at the end of the day. That is what made Horry so valuable. He didn't do much in the regular season, but was huge in the last 2 minutes of every game in the playoffs. It is also what makes Turk so valuable. I don't know if Carter is more clutch than Turk.

I am still not sure if this move will be good for orlando or not. We still don't have a starting SF (assuming SVG wants Pietrus to come off the bench), and we are now considerably thinner. What if Nelson gets injured? (and he will at some point).

It's still too early to tell if this will work or not. It depends on how the bench looks like. It'll be hard to win it all with a thin bench.
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