Lawrence Frank era
begins tonight for Nets
Scott's replacement
leads team against 76ers
 Bill Kostroun / AP Lawrence Frank was named interim head coach of the Nets after Byron Scott was fired Monday. |
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Byron Scott led the New Jersey Nets to consecutive NBA Finals appearances.
Team management did not want to see if he could get them to a third straight.
A day after Scott was fired, unheralded assistant Lawrence Frank takes over the Nets as they visit the Philadelphia 76ers.
“It happens to almost every coach eventually: Your message isn’t well received and taken onto the court,” Nets president Rod Thorn said at Monday’s news conference to announce the change.
Scott, the team’s all-time leader with 149 coaching victories, was let go despite helping New Jersey win the Eastern Conference each of the last two seasons. The team had been inconsistent this season despite leading the weak Atlantic Division, and it was fairly well known he had his share of problems with All-Star point guard Jason Kidd.
Kidd clashed with Scott after a 47-point loss at Memphis last month, but the team then went on to win nine of 11. Thorn, however, said he thought about firing Scott for more than a month and finally decided Sunday the time was right after the team had lost five straight, though that skid ended with a win over Boston that night.
“They discussed the situation and both concluded that the timing of the move is to the benefit of the team,” said Scott’s agent, Brian McInerney. “They decided another voice needed to be heard in the locker room.”
That voice is Frank, who takes over as coach on an interim basis and will stay at least through the end of the season, Thorn said. Frank served 3½ seasons on Scott’s staff after spending three years as an assistant with the Vancouver Grizzlies under Brian Hill, who was added to New Jersey’s coaching staff Monday.
“Lawrence is a lot like Jeff Van Gundy, who I think is one of the best coaches in pro basketball,” Thorn said.
Frank gets one break in his head coaching debut, facing a Sixers team that will be without Allen Iverson.
An MRI taken Monday showed the superstar guard has a sprained index finger, putting him on the sidelines for at least two games. Iverson leads the league with 27.2 points per game.
An injured finger will keep another Philadelphia starter out of this game, and many more. Derrick Coleman was placed on the injured list over the weekend with a fracture of his right fourth metacarpal and is expected to miss about six weeks.
Coleman and fellow starting forward Kenny Thomas both sat out Saturday’s 95-87 loss at Cleveland, the Sixers’ sixth defeat in seven games.
“It’s wearing on us somewhat,” said Sixers coach Randy Ayers, who expects Thomas (scratched cornea) to be back Tuesday. “We have to keep working.”
The Sixers have dropped three straight at home since beating New Jersey at the Wachovia Center on Jan. 9.
That defeat sparked a five-game road losing streak for the Nets, who are opening a four-game road trip.
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