2003–04 New Jersey Nets season

2003–04 New Jersey Nets season
Division Champions
Head coach	Byron Scott Lawrence Frank
Arena	Continental Airlines Arena
Results
Record	47–35 (.573)
Place	Division: 1st (Atlantic) Conference: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	East Conference Semifinals (Eliminated 3-4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

The 2003-04 NBA season was the Nets' 28th season in the NBA.

After speculating that he would sign with the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in the off-season, Jason Kidd signed a 6-year, $99 million deal to stay with the Nets.

The team acquired All-Star center and two-time Defensive Player of the Year Alonzo Mourning, who missed all of last season due to his worsening kidney condition. But Mourning retired on November 25, 2003 due to complications from his kidney disease.

After a 24-22 start to the season, Byron Scott was fired as head coach and Lawrence Frank took over for the rest of the season. With Frank as interim head coach, the Nets overcame adversity, ending the season with a 47-35 record. Despite this, the Nets still managed to repeat as Division Champions and earn the number 2 spot in the Eastern Conference.

After sweeping the New York Knicks in the opening round, the second round pitted the Nets against the Detroit Pistons in last year's Conference championship rematch. However, Detroit would get revenge this time, and would eventually win the series in seven games, ending the 2003-04 season for the Nets. The Pistons would go on to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals.

After the season, Kenyon Martin was traded to the Denver Nuggets.

Martin and Jason Kidd represented the Nets at the 2004 NBA All-Star Game, which was held in Los Angeles. This was the first All-Star appearance for Martin.

Offseason

Draft picks

Main article: 2003 NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	22	Zoran Planinic		Croatia
2	51	Kyle Korver		United States	Creighton

Roster

New Jersey Nets roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From G 1 Armstrong, Brandon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 188 lb (85 kg) Pepperdine C 35 Collins, Jason 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Stanford G 44 Davis, Hubert 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 183 lb (83 kg) North Carolina G 12 Harris, Lucious 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Long Beach State F 24 Jefferson, Richard 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Arizona G 5 Kidd, Jason 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) California G 30 Kittles, Kerry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 179 lb (81 kg) Villanova F 6 Martin, Kenyon 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Cincinnati C 33 Mourning, Alonzo 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Georgetown G 10 Planinić, Zoran 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Croatia F 54 Rogers, Rodney 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Wake Forest F 21 Scalabrine, Brian 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Southern California G 8 Slay, Tamar 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Marshall F/C 34 Williams, Aaron 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Xavier	Head coach Lawrence Frank (Indiana) Assistant coach(es) Tom Barrise (Fairleigh Dickinson) Larry Drew (Missouri) Brian Hill (JFK College) Don Newman (Idaho) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster • Transactions

Depth Chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench 1	Bench 2	Reserve	Inactive
C	Jason Collins |	Aaron Williams |	Alonzo Mourning |
PF	Kenyon Martin |	Rodney Rogers |	Brian Scalabrine |
SF	Richard Jefferson |
SG	Kerry Kittles |	Zoran Planinić |	Brandon Armstrong |	Tamar Slay |	Hubert Davis
PG	Jason Kidd |	Lucious Harris |

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-New Jersey Nets	47	35	.573	–	28–13	19–22	18–7
x-Miami Heat	42	40	.512	5	29–12	13–28	15–10
x-New York Knicks	39	43	.476	8	23–18	16–25	15–7
x-Boston Celtics	36	46	.439	11	19–22	17–24	14–10
Philadelphia 76ers	33	49	.402	14	21–20	12–29	10–14
Washington Wizards	25	57	.305	22	17–24	8–33	3–21
Orlando Magic	21	61	.256	26	11–30	10–31	8–16

#	Eastern Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Indiana Pacers	61	21	.744	–
2	y-New Jersey Nets	47	35	.573	14
3	x-Detroit Pistons	54	28	.659	7
4	x-Miami Heat	42	40	.512	19
5	x-New Orleans Hornets	41	41	.500	20
6	x-Milwaukee Bucks	41	41	.500	20
7	x-New York Knicks	39	43	.476	22
8	x-Boston Celtics	36	46	.439	25
9	Cleveland Cavaliers	35	47	.427	26
10	Toronto Raptors	33	49	.402	28
10	Philadelphia 76ers	33	49	.402	28
12	Atlanta Hawks	28	54	.341	33
13	Washington Wizards	25	57	.305	36
14	Chicago Bulls	23	59	.280	37
15	Orlando Magic	21	61	.256	39

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

East First Round

(2) New Jersey Nets vs. (7) New York Knicks:Nets win series 4–0

• Game 1 @ Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey: New Jersey 107, New York 83
• Game 2 @ Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey: New Jersey 99, New York 81
• Game 3 @ Madison Square Garden, New York: New Jersey 81, New York 78
• Game 4 @ Madison Square Garden, New York: New Jersey 100, New York 94

Last Playoff Meeting: 1994 Eastern Conference First Round (New York won 3-1)

East Conference Semifinals

(2) New Jersey Nets vs. (3) Detroit Pistons: Pistons win series 4–3

• Game 1 @ The Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit: Detroit 78, New Jersey 56
• Game 2 @ The Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit: Detroit 95, New Jersey 80
• Game 3 @ Continental Airlines Arena, Newark: New Jersey 82, Detroit 64
• Game 4 @ Continental Airlines Arena, Newark: New Jersey 94, Detroit 79
• Game 5 @ The Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit: New Jersey 127, Detroit 120 (3OT)
• Game 6 @ Continental Airlines Arena, Newark: Detroit 81, New Jersey 75
• Game 7 @ The Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit: Detroit 90, New Jersey 69

Last Playoff Meeting: 2003 Eastern Conference Finals (New Jersey won 4-0)

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Awards and records

• Jason Kidd, All-NBA First Team
• Jason Kidd, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
• Nenad Krstic, NBA All-Rookie Team 2nd Team

Transactions

Free Agents

Additions
Player	Date signed	Former team
Alonzo Mourning	July 16	Miami Heat
Doug Overton	September 30	FC Barcelona
Damone Brown	September 30	North Charleston Lowgators (NBDL)
Mikki Moore	December 22	Roanoke Dazzle (NBDL)
Robert Pack	January 19	New Orleans Hornets
Hubert Davis	January 26	Detroit Pistons
Anthony Goldwire	March 22	Minnesota Timberwolves

Subtractions
Player	Date waived	New Team
Dikembe Mutombo	October 7	New York Knicks
Doug Overton	November 13	Los Angeles Clippers
Damone Brown	December 22	none
Mikki Moore	January 7	Utah Jazz
Robert Pack	January 26	Zalgiris Kaunas
Anthony Goldwire	April 6	Criollos de Caguas

See also

• 2003-04 NBA season