HOOPSAHOLIC

The Brooklyn Nets enter the 2014-15 season with a lot less promise than they did entering last season. Lot’s of people thought the Nets could compete with the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference after the acquisition of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, but boy were those people wrong. The Nets were a mess last season despite making the playoffs, and now with another new head coach and one more year of aging on their star players, the Nets will once again have to fight to make the playoffs.

Lionell Hollins is on board as the coach now that Jason Kidd left for the Bucks job. He will try and implement his flex/motion offensive system on a roster filled with aging stars. Let’s start first with Deron Williams. Williams at one time was the best point guard in the NBA in the eyes of some experts, but after a disappointing last couple of seasons he may not be in the top ten anymore. Last year he averaged 15 points and six assists, which are both down from his career averages. He battled through ankle injuries, and failed to facilitate at the pace we were so used to seeing Williams perform. He will need to find the Deron Williams of old if this team has any chance of making a deep playoff run. 

The best thing that happened to this team this offseason is the return of Brook Lopez from injury. He missed all of last season and the Nets desperately missed his inside presence. He’s one of the better big men this league has with career averages of 18 points and seven rebounds. I think he will fit in nicely with Hollins as the new head coach because of his previous coaching experiences with players like Marc Gasol. Gasol thrived in Hollins offense so we can expect similar things out of Lopez this season. 

I get sad every time I watch Kevin Garnett play. I miss the days when he was the league MVP and racked up double-doubles like they were something on the value meal at McDonalds. Now that KG is 38, his age is showing in a big way. Last season he averaged seven points and six rebounds which were both career lows. He will serve as a valuable leader on this year’s team, but I wouldn’t expect too much more from THE BIG TICKET. 

Joe Johnson was the Nets leading scorer last season despite his inconsistent play to start the year. He averaged 21 points per clip and made humongous shots for the Nets throughout the year. Anytime a big shot is needed in Brooklyn, Johnson’s the guy they go to. His scoring average may decrease this season with the return of Lopez, but I still expect him to take the last possession shots for the Nets. Andrei Kirilenko will also return this year and I expect him to start at the small-forward spot. Last season he under achieved averaging only 2.5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. The former all-star will still contribute on the defensive end of the floor for the nets due to his lanky frame and experience. 

The bench play for the Nets will be an interesting thing to keep an eye on this season. Mason Plumlee is returning from a fabulous summer where he surprised everyone by making the Team USA roster for the FIBA World Cup in Spain. He will need to be an energy player this season for Brooklyn and build off of his positive play from the summer. The Nets also traded for Jarrett Jack in the offseason, which will bring automatic scoring from the bench. He didn’t mesh well in Cleveland last year, but I expect him to improve on a more veteran-savvy team. The Nets will rely on shooters Bojan Bogdonovic and Mirza Teletevic to knock down the three-ball consistently off the bench. Brooklyn also drafted Markel Brown out of Oklahoma State after his promising senior campaign. He was an iron man for the Cowoys last season, at one point averaging over 40 minutes per game over a five game stretch.