Wait, so let me get this straight. The Nets traded for one of the 15 best players in the NBA and suddenly are worse than they were last year. It seems crazy to think that the team that started last night against the Bobcats might actually be worthy of being called the worst in the NBA. You see, after the Nets traded for Deron Williams, they found out that he had just injured his wrist. Even though he gave them 12 games, he clearly was not himself. Yes he averaged a career high 12.8 assists/game, but he couldn't shoot worth a damn. Realizing they had nothing to gain by playing him down the stretch, the shut him down and he had wrist surgery. A few days later the injury bug started to hit the rest of the team. Kris Humphries. Anthony Morrow. Damion James. Sundiata Gaines.
So that left us with the atrocity that we saw last night - Brooke Lopez, Dan Gadzuric, Sasha Vujacic, Jordan Farmar and Stephen Graham. On the bench were Brandon Wright (not really sure why - I mean, isn't this the perfect time for an underachieving guy once thought good enough to be the 8th pick to get some playing time? Avery, what do you have to lose?), Travis Outlaw (Avery, thank you for finally realizing how terrible this guy is...), Johan Petro (another terrible signing) and rookie Ben Uzoh.
Naturally they lost. Funny thing is that again Brook Lopez had a monster game. Reason I say it's funny is because he was a zombie the first half of the season (19.5 points, 5.8 boards), a slightly better version of his past self once D-Will came over (20.1 points, 6.2 boards including 4 double-doubles) and an absolute stud (32.4 points, 7 boards) once everyone else was gone. It is definitely something that needs to be addressed in the off-season. Was it that Lopez was still recovering from the off-season mono in the early part of the season? Was it that it took him half a season to come to grips with Avery as his coach? Or did he simply hate playing with Devin Harris? And what about once D-Will got injured? Was it that Lopez was awaken from his slumber or did not having Humphries on the floor free him up? People talk about his lack of rebounding this year and some have suggested that he is actually afraid of the borderline out of control Humphries. Could he be a great player on a bad team and not a good player on a decent team? What is up with the Brookie monster?
Personally, I think it might be a combo of everything. I think early season he may have still been sick. I think the 12 win season of a year ago was rock bottom, but when presented with playing for Avery and with Harris for another year, it depressed him. I don't think he hated Harris, but the effect D-Will had on him and the terrible play of Harris after the trade are definitely noticeable. And I think having Humphries on the floor was an adjustment. I think he didn't know how to play with him, which is a shame because a rebounding presence like Humphries theoretically should have freed Lopez up more.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the off-season. are we going to re-sign Humphries? are we going to look elsewhere? Will D-Will decide to stay in Jersey/Brooklyn. Can Isaiah come back with the Knicks and be tricked into taking Outlaw and/or Morrow? Whatever happens, the Nets need to know that D-Will AND Lopez are their current and possible future foundation. They need to make sure Lopez is on board with the plan for the team. They need to make sure he is the player we once thought would be a top-2 center in this league rather than the worse of the two twins. Come on, Brook. We need you next year.
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