2014-15 Brooklyn Nets Preview
Some of the names remained the same in the heat of 2014, but not for good reasons.
Pierce bolted after one season to the Washington Wizards, hoping to guide that young team further in the postseason. That move wasn’t a total surprise, but the other big storyline of the Nets’ summer was a shockeroo.
Kidd made a behind the scenes power play for personnel responsibilities. He went behind General Manager Billy King’s back to ownership for control of the team.
It backfired.
Kidd is now the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Kidd was hired by the Nets just weeks after officially retiring from the league. He struggled badly, as did the Nets, early on, but once he got his footing, the Nets thrived and even won a round in the postseason.
Then, his duplicitous machinations cost him the trust of ownership. They allowed him to go to Milwaukee. King and owner Mikhail Prokhorov found a good man.
Lionel Hollins was tabbed the team’s head coach. In reality, despite the late- season surge last season thanks to Kidd’s improvement on the bench, the Nets upgraded in the coaching department.
This move isn’t career advancement for Hollins. He’s a defensive-minded guy, who got the Memphis Grizzlies to the Western Conference Finals just two seasons ago. He did it by preaching defense and unity.
“The only stabilizing way I can be is just that I’m here and if they’re out watching they know I’m going to be straight with them,” Hollins said at his introductory press conference. “I’m going to be consistent with them and we’re going to have fun, we’re going to work hard and we’re going to win.”
The Nets won some games last season and beat the Toronto Raptors in the first round. They did so without All-Star center Brook Lopez through much of the campaign.
Lopez was averaging 20.7 ppg before he went down with yet another foot injury. He was playing at an All-Star level, problem was, the team was not winning games.
When Lopez went down, the offensive focus shifted to Joe Johnson, who, despite being immensely overpaid, made another All-Star team. The team eventually learned to trust Kidd and they flourished.
Things have changed in the offseason, and not just involving Kidd.
Pierce left for the Wizards, Shaun Livingston, who underwent a career rebirth with the Nets last season, signed with Golden State, Andray Blatche isn’t back and Garnett hasn’t truly confirmed he will be back instead of retiring. (Most believe he will be back.)
The 2014-15 Nets may experience addition by subtraction. Kidd grated on some of the players, so Hollins, a respected basketball mind, shouldn’t have any turbulence with his transition. This is still a veteran group who should work with Hollins.
The Nets ranked 10th in opponents’ scoring last season. Under Hollins, the Memphis Grizzlies were dominant on that side of the ball. They won games because of their defense.
That should be a calling card for Brooklyn this season. There’s enough offense with Johnson, Lopez and Deron Williams to carry the load in the fourth quarter.
2013-14 Results: 44-38, 2nd in Atlantic. Lost in East Semifinals to Miami
ADDITIONS: HC Lionel Hollins, G Jarrett Jack, G/F Sergey Karasev, F Bojan Bogdanovic
PROJECTED STARTING FIVE:
PG- Deron Williams SG- Joe Johnson SF- Andrei Kirilenko PF- Kevin Garnett C- Brook Lopez
KEY RESERVES: G/F Alan Anderson, G Jarrett Jack, C Mason Plumlee, F Mirza Teletovic, F Bojan Bogdanovic, F/G Sergey Karasev
FRONTCOURT: Lopez can score as well as any center on the low block, plus, he has a decent jump shot. When he went down, Lopez was shooting 56 percent from the field and 81 percent from the free-throw line.
Lopez is not a perfect center. He averaged a paltry 6.0 rebounds per game and was never a great force on the glass. Lopez is adequate defensively and with Garnett behind him, he isn’t always burdened with covering the opponents best interior player.
What’s most concerning is that Lopez has now had two surgeries on his right foot in three seasons. Lopez said he’s slimmed down in an effort to lighten the load on his dogs.
“I’m at my playing weight,” Lopez told the New York Post. “I can attribute that to laying in bed for months, but I’m back to the weight that’s normal for me.”
This will probably be Garnett’s last season in a Hall of Fame career. Kidd did a good job of maintaining Garnett’s minutes last season, averaging only 20.5 per game.
That won’t be an issue for Hollins. He spoke with Garnett and made his plans clear.
“There’s nobody in the gym I’d put in his place,” Hollins said. “He’s earned that right to be the starter from Day 1.”
Garnett was mildly effective last season, pulling down 6.6 boards a game, but only managed 6.5 points. He surrendered his normal offensive role due to the talent around him.
Kirilenko was under-used by Kidd last season, although the Russian wasn’t healthy through much of the season. He will be a perfect fit for Hollins’ defensive mentality. Kirilenko has something left in the tank.
BACKCOURT: Williams had his worst season as a pro in 2013-14. He averaged only 14.3 points and handed out 6.1 assists. Those were both career lows since his rookie season.
Williams has been hobbled by ankle injuries for the last few seasons. When healthy, we could assume Williams would return to his All-Star form. Two seasons ago, he averaged almost 19 points and 21 the season before.
Williams never seemed to click with Kidd. It was somewhat surprising considering Kidd is one of the greatest point guards to ever live. Williams has a so-so reputation when it comes to coaches. This season is important for Williams to return to form and reclaim a position among the position’s elite.
Johnson was dinged up some last season, but still scored almost 16 points a night. He shot 40 percent from long range, which was a 10-year high. He’s not a great defender, but he can score and does so in isolations. The ball sticks with him, but the result is generally the other team pulling the hoop out of the net.
Johnson is an easy guy to beat up on because of his $23 million salary. He’s not selfish, but does thrive best in one-on-one situations. He carried the Nets through some lean times last season.
BENCH: The Nets’ bench last season was a real strength.
Brooklyn’s second unit played the second-most minutes per game and scored the fifth-most points. Even though some key pieces have left, the Nets’ bench should still provide big lifts.
Plumlee, for one, emerged last season with Lopez shelved and Garnett aging. He made the All-Rookie First Team and gained even more experience winning a gold medal for the United States at the FIBA World Cup. His game should only improve.
Jack is two years removed from finishing in the top three in Sixth Man of the Year voting when he was with the Golden State Warriors. Last season in Cleveland didn’t go well, so they shipped him to Brooklyn in order to shed salary for a certain LeBron James. Jack is still a solid combo guard who has played a lot of big minutes in his career. He will be valuable for the Nets.
Anderson is underrated. He played almost 23 minutes a game for the Nets last season and can play both wing positions. Anderson is not a bad shooter, plus defender and a gamer.
Teletovic emerged under Kidd. He got almost 20 minutes a night and scored 8.6 ppg. He shot 39 percent from long range. Teletovic should see plenty of time behind Garnett.
Everyone else on the roster would be classified as projects.
COACHING: Hollins went 183-129 in three-plus seasons with the Grizzlies. He left Memphis because of a conflict with the organization about analytics. The Grizz hierarchy loves the science, Hollins not so much.
He is respected. He preaches defense and team defense. While with the Grizzlies, Hollins finished sixth in Coach of the Year voting in 2012-13, which was criminally low.
Hollins took the Grizzlies to the Conference Finals and Semifinals. He’s battle-tested and he should hold up fine in the media cauldron of New York. Hollins will have plenty of veterans to lean on, although he will have to immediately build a relationship with Williams.
Hollins is going to be just fine.
OUTLOOK: The Nets might not be.
Brooklyn finished with the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference last season. That was with Pierce, Livingston and Blatche. Jack replaces Livingston, but it’s hard to see this group contending for the Atlantic Division with the Toronto Raptors still intact.
A full season of Lopez should make them a little better, but the East isn’t as bad as it once was. They will miss Pierce’s veteran leadership, as well as his fourth-quarter toughness.
Williams is a big key. Lopez and Johnson should handle the scoring load, but Williams needs to be the Deron of old for them to make it to the second round again.
Brooklyn is definitely behind the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, Raptors and Washington Wizards. The Nets should figure into the mix somewhere in the final four for playoff positioning.
The Nets didn’t get substantially worse. The rest of the conference got better.
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