VC taking team on his shoulders

Vince Carter and Devin Harris are ready to go. Yi Jianlian and Keyon Dooling are not. The Nets open training camp tomorrow and held Media Day today at their practice facility. Before Carter and Harris both declared their team ready to exceed expectations, Lawrence Frank announced the first bit of bad news for the new season: Yi and Dooling, two key pieces acquired in the offseason rebuilding process, will miss the next week to 10 days because of minor sprains in their left ankles. No one is expecting either situation to turn into a big deal - and we even heard some theorize that Yi sitting out for a while could be a blessing, considering how much he played this summer - but ankle injuries are always touchy, no matter how minor they start out. Carter had a serious ankle injury last season and had to have surgery in April. He said he's fully recovered now and declared himself prepared to take on the role of team leader. Actually, we in the media had already done that for him. But we still ... (link)