I Told You So
Vince Carter, Dime #21
After going 0-for-2 with my NCAA championship picks (really 0-for-3, if we’re counting my pre-Thanksgiving call that Georgetown would take the whole thing), my basketball prognostication skills have come into question.
So allow me to highlight one thing I did get right:
With Vince (Carter) entering the second year of a four-year, $62 million deal and any realistic chance the New Jersey Nets had of winning a championship flying the coop when Jason Kidd was traded last February, the detractors assume Vince will mail it in this season. His supporters know better.
I wrote that “Vince Carter will give a damn” piece back in October, in Dime #45 for our NBA preview. And nobody has been paying attention — because, like I said, the Nets aren’t relevant right now — but VC has done everything I said he would do.
Vince is on his way to playing 81 games (he missed one back in February with an elbow injury) of All-Star caliber basketball, and has been New Jersey’s leader and most consistent player. His 20.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game put him just below last season’s 20-5-5 averages, when he was one of just four players in the NBA to accomplish that feat; next to Kobe, LeBron and T-Mac. (This year the 20-5-5 club consists of LeBron, D-Wade, Chris Paul and Stephen Jackson.)
Despite the fact that his team will end up in the Lottery, Vince has been busting his ass all year. In last night’s meaningless game at Boston — which the Nets learned beforehand they’d been mathematically knocked out of the playoff picture — he put up 33 points on an efficient 11-for-18, grabbed 12 boards, handed out five assists, and went to the line eight times. To translate the numbers into words, he’s not lazily gunning shots, he’s getting after it in the paint going for rebounds, he’s still creating shots for his teammates, and he’s not just settling for jumpers.
The Nets lost by two, and although Vince missed a three-pointer with eight seconds left that could have tied it, he was the one who kept his team in the game in the first place. Doc Rivers had to bring some starters back in off the bench late in the fourth after Vince led New Jersey on a rally to cut into the Celtics’ seemingly safe lead. Vince knew the game didn’t make a difference when they walked out of the tunnel, yet he played it like NJ’s playoff hopes were on the line.
In this morning’s Newark Star-Ledger, Carter said:
“I don’t know if people realize it, but we were close — a few games here, and few games there. It comes down to learning how to sustain effort over the course of time. We’d be down too far and we just needed two more minutes in the game — somewhere — to possibly get us over the top. We’d play better over the course of the game and we’d just come up short.”
“We were a team that was learning and feeling our way through it. I’m just proud of the guys because we refused to make that an excuse,” Carter said. “We come up short and it’s happened to us all year. I’m proud of the guys. We still showed fight.”
Does that sound like the soft quitter that Vince’s haters want to make him out to be? To me that sounds like a leader, a guy who plays hard every night, and somebody who for once deserves a little credit for it.
-->
April 9th, 2009 at 9:11 am
that's whats up says:
living in New York you know all Knicks and Nets games are on tv regardless.
I watched VC a lot and he earned my respect with his efforts.
Public perception is one thing (maybe he did mail it in in Toronto – could you blame him?) but he is always on the court and hustling, even if he can’t get up like he used to.
April 9th, 2009 at 9:12 am
Shrink This says:
As a former Raptor fan, I hate Vince for what he pulled in Toronto (and Zo for refusing to play there; but this is not popular to admit as people get excited when you say negative things about a guy with serious health problems).
That being said, Vince has busted his a** more recently and deserves credit for it.
Many people expect NBA players to demonstrate exceptional maturity at a very young age. When they make mistakes, people jump all over them. Unfortunately, when they redeem themselves later on in their careers, it nary makes a ripple.
I’m just disappointed that Vince’s maturity didn’t fully develop while he was in Toronto.
April 9th, 2009 at 9:16 am
Luigi says:
amen..i wish vince did this earlier in his career..you know..when he was a megabucks kobe caliber star in Toronto….
i love his game though. he does everything…i think Devin Harrises breakout year has contributed to Vinces resurgance
April 9th, 2009 at 9:19 am
Luigi says:
oh btw….G-TOWN?!?!?! as Natl Title…i thought theyd make Sweet 16. or Elite 8…but never Natl. Title….
i dont know what happened over there. but i was dissapointed to the max when they didnt make it because of their poor play…i mean i love G-Town because i live like 2 mins away from it..n i love watching em play…it just kills me that they could say we beat 6 outta the 8 elite 8 teams during the course of the year and not even get considered for the Tourney….-_-….
theres always next year!
April 9th, 2009 at 9:36 am
QQ says:
“Does that sound like the soft quitter that Vince’s haters want to make him out to be? To me that sounds like a leader, a guy who plays hard every night, and somebody who for once deserves a little credit for it.”
To me, this sounds like a VC fan who has his head stuck in Carter’s ass ever since, therefore cannot see the negatives that Carter has been bringing on his teams. To his credit though, he IS playing better this year. But to ignore all of the dumbass moves this guy has done for the past few years just because of one season, that’s just damn crazy.
April 9th, 2009 at 9:38 am
2Cleva says:
Sounds like someone is trying to hide their Carolina hate.
That’s OK. You haven’t reached acceptance yet.
April 9th, 2009 at 9:51 am
Chicagorilla says:
I have a hard time being objective here because Vince has been one of my all-time favorites from Carolina. Sure he stopped attacking the basket with reckless abandon and settle more for those pull up 3′s (which i hate), but he plays the game well. He still needs to be better on Defense, but he isn’t nearly as bad as he once was. It’s just too bad, he could be the best player in the L with his talent and was well on the way there back in 2001. Now he is just another (all-star)player.
April 9th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Brown says:
I wouldn’t want to play for a franchise with no idea how to build a contender either. That hasn’t changed in Toronto since Vince was traded. The Raptors are still a hot mess in terms of management and personnel decisions. You think Lebron would stay in Cleveland if his team was in the lottery and constantly changing coaches with no vision how to move forward and become competitive?
I’m not saying VC should have quit on the team, but I understand.
April 9th, 2009 at 10:12 am
Scott says:
Brown, how exactly do you understand? Dude was a superstar on a team that made it to the 2nd round of the playoffs, they’d just drafted Bosh who had potential to make an amazing 1-2 punch with VC had VC had any patience or matureness, he could’ve stuck it out and been in a lot better position to win right now.
That being said, while I hate the VC of old, its VERY clear he has matured and his maturity has shined through in a great way this year. All the best to him, lets not talk about the Toronto era, lol.
April 9th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Tbest says:
Funny you would post this because I lost a ton of respect for VC this past weekend. I was @ bulls/nets and watched vince put up 4,2, and 2. On one sequence down about ten in the third he ran down court to the corner by the bulls bench. Jokingly slapped tim thomas in the face and then stood there with his body half turned talking to the bulls bench. All of this while the ball was in play on the other side of the court. He would glance over about every 3 seconds and make sure the ball wasn’t coming his way. I told my brother that I would pull him immediately and sit him for the rest of the game. A lot of respect was lost in those 15 seconds. It was complete apparent he did not care about that game or his team.
April 9th, 2009 at 10:23 am
that's whats up says:
4,2 and 2.
That’s like my stat line for ALL of last Saturday
April 9th, 2009 at 10:33 am
MSkittle says:
Still settles for way too many jumpers. Did you see his attempted game winner?
April 9th, 2009 at 10:43 am
YOUNGFED...."Just to show off I hang my wrist out the window" says:
yeah its easy to be the man when your team is trash. But 81 games aint easy. Big Ups.
April 9th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Chicagorilla says:
Anyone who supports Toronto should think about how they treated Vince. They bagged on the man for going to get his college degree during a playoff series. He actually had plenty of time to make it to the game, and came with in inches of hitting the game winner. The only reason they lost that game is because Iverson had a career high in assist i think (14)that night and played like a true lead guard. Had that series turned out differently, everyone would be calling Vince a beast.
And I watched that game against Chicago, Vince was playing pretty bad that game, but i think the rest of his team also played like sh!t.
April 9th, 2009 at 11:14 am
My 2 Cent says:
This article isn’t about Vince Carter, this article is about Austin trying to get back some credibility after going 0-3 with his predictions!
I think he lost it after he pick Georgetown to win it all! …lol
April 9th, 2009 at 11:15 am
AB_40 says:
wouldn’t it be funny if him and rasheed had a little unc connection and ended up in like san antionio… would that be the most hated team ever?
ps. do y’all like fishsticks?
April 9th, 2009 at 11:26 am
karizmatic says:
Austin, I will admit your first column was a factor in me taking a second look at VC this year…it’s true he has turned in consistent effort this year. He’s been solid. He played hard this year….however he’s not a leader…he’s just not. He’s a good ballplayer and would make a good second option on another team. If he can turn in a ocuple more seasons like this one he’d be great on another team. Here’s to hoping “Wince” gets traded. I’m still not a fan, but I’m a little farther from being a hater.
April 9th, 2009 at 11:30 am
QQ says:
@ 14:
Wow. Just fucking wow. And I thought Austin was the delusional VC fan here.
April 9th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Detroit Dave says:
Man he would be good in Toronto with Chris Bo–… oops!
April 9th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
bill says:
i want my apology
April 9th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
AY says:
Stick with the tony parker stuff, there’s no saving VC.
April 9th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
everybodyisslow says:
VC was everybodies favorite after the dunk contest, but because he didnt agree with toronto hes a horrible person, i think we often times look into personality insted of how they play, lets stop having female tendencies by making sports a soap opera. lets just enjoy the talent. “AND LETS STOP BEING SHEEP AND BELIVEING EVERY THING THAT IS SAID OR WRITTEN.”
April 9th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
dagwaller says:
Respect. Nice write-up, Austin.
April 9th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
K Dizzle says:
He better shut up and pretend to play hard. Contenders like Cleveland or Orlando ain’t tradin for a big money player who ain’t bringin it. Vince helpin Vince…