Nets' futility reaches 0-17
LOS ANGELES — When the New Jersey Nets finally reached an inauspicious NBA record, the Staples Center's public address announcer let the crowd know all about it.
At least he had the tact to wait until the Nets were out of earshot after their 17th straight loss.
The undermanned, undertalented Nets matched the worst start to an NBA season Sunday night, with Kobe Bryant scoring 30 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' 106-87 victory.
A few hours after New Jersey fired coach Lawrence Frank, the Nets had little prayer of keeping up with the defending league champions, who won their sixth straight game. Despite apparently playing hard for temporary head coach Tom Barrise, New Jersey fell behind by 27 points in the first half and went into history with yet another whimper.
"I wish I could explain it," said New Jersey guard Chris Douglas-Roberts, who only lost 10 games in his three collegiate seasons at Memphis. "There's not really anything good out of this. I try to stay positive, but it's extremely hard to stay positive. All the things going on, it's depressing."
The Nets were in the locker room, shaking their heads and packing for an uncertain trip home, before the crowd was told New Jersey's 0-17 start matched the 1988-89 Miami Heat and the 1999 Los Angeles Clippers in hoops futility.
"You have four-game losing streaks, three-game losing streaks, and you can deal with that," said Barrise, whose tenure might last just one game. "When you go a whole month, you wake up and you feel it. You honestly do feel it."
New Jersey must beat the Dallas Mavericks back home in the East Rutherford swamp on Wednesday night — perhaps while playing for the club's third coach in three games — to avoid sole possession of an embarrassing NBA record.
