健康的 Jefferson 飞翔着 Friday, November 02, 2007 BY DAVID WALDSTEIN Star-Ledger Staff Yes, Nets fans, that was the old Richard Jefferson out there Wednesday night. Whether it lasts, it was certainly the same explosive, aggressive, confident, rim-rattling slasher who helped the Nets to two NBA Finals. And if that's the case for the better part of 81 more games, then the Nets are in for some good times this year. "When he's healthy, he's shown he's one of the better small forwards in the game," coach Lawrence Frank said after yesterday's practice. "The questions have only been health related. Now he feels healthy and had a very, very strong showing," on opening night. We've been hearing all training camp that Jefferson would prove to us that he's healthy. And more, that he was going to prove he's still one of the elite small forwards in the world. Based on one night, it may be true. In Wednesday's 112-103 overtime victory over the Bulls, it sure looked as if Jefferson's right ankle surgery from last year has been officially relegated to a mention in the Nets media guide -- to history. On a night when Vince Carter didn't have it, Jefferson scored 29 points on 7-for-15 shooting (including 3-for-4 from the 3-point line), grabbed 10 rebounds, blocked two shots, and just made his presence felt. He cramped up a little during the game, but showed no signs of any ankle problems. Last week Frank said Jefferson was playing with a chip on his shoulder, and it certainly appeared that way in the opener, and sounded like it too after yesterday's practice. The last few years the Nets have been without Jefferson for 49 games with a wrist injury in 2004-05, and 26 more last year with the ankle surgery. But don't call him injury prone, because then he's liable to come back and score 29 points on you. "I have been injured," he said. "I got taken out from behind on a dunk and hurt my wrist. The next time I had a lingering ankle injury that lasted over pretty much the course of the season. People like to jump on bandwagons and forget that I played 110 games, 110, then 100, played for USA every single year and never got hurt over that course of time. Then I had a couple of unfortunate incidents. "People try and make it seem like, 'Oh, you just can't handle the long haul of a season.' Well, over my first four seasons I probably played more basketball than any other individual maybe on this planet." Regardless of the perceptions of him -- or Jefferson's perception of the perceptions -- he's still only 27. And as he has pointed out, the arc of his athletic ability is now intersecting with the upward incline of six years of NBA experience. "You can tell people only so many times you're healthy," he said. "It's a matter of going out there and proving it. Last night was one step in the direction. I'm healthy, I'm able to rebound, I'm able to defend. I'm able to go out there and score and do all the things my team needs me to do." Notes: Frank said several players, including Jefferson, Jason Kidd and Bostjan Nachbar, were bumped and bruised in Wednesday night's physical game against the Bulls, but all expect to play tonight against the Raptors. ... Tonight's game reprises last spring's first-round playoff series. Call it Game 7. David Waldstein may be reached at [email protected] http://0rz.tw/cb3h9 --

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