Is KG rounding into form?

[sp6r=underrated]

I watched a few early Nets games when I realized how bad KG's stats were. He looked truly awful in those games I saw at the beginning of the season. He didn't have any spring in his step and even his brilliant defense wasn't there.

I haven't seen his recent games but I've noticed his stats are picking up. Is KG coming back or do you think he's done?

[therealbig3]

I watched a few early Nets games when I realized how bad KG's stats were. He looked truly awful in those games I saw at the beginning of the season. He didn't have any spring in his step and even his brilliant defense wasn't there.

I haven't seen his recent games but I've noticed his stats are picking up. Is KG coming back or do you think he's done?

He's been playing like the KG of last year...in limited minutes, he's playing elite defense, he's always been a fantastic passing big man, and his shooting stroke has returned.

I really hope he keeps it up, because I think a lot of the high hopes of this team were centered on KG playing like this.

[DarkXaero]

He is. His defense has been mostly great as of late, which has been a big part of the Nets' defensive improvements. And now he's finally starting to hit his shots on a consistent basis.

[Keith Van Horn]

He's also clearly the Nets center now. Before I think it was a confusing role for him with Lopez, who is now out for the year. I think with no Lopez in the picture it has helped him improve. But maybe with Lopez starting and KG coming off the bench at center for Lopez would work too for next year, then at the end of the game play them both together.

[MaxZaslofskyJr]

But is there a "next year" for Garnett as gArNETt?

[Prokorov]

I watched a few early Nets games when I realized how bad KG's stats were. He looked truly awful in those games I saw at the beginning of the season. He didn't have any spring in his step and even his brilliant defense wasn't there.

I haven't seen his recent games but I've noticed his stats are picking up. Is KG coming back or do you think he's done?

i dont think anything has changed with his play.

i think playing center just makes a huge difference because he cant defend the 4 spot anymore. Offensively i think there are less mouths to feed without williams and lopez and he is less histiant to shoot, which i think helps his confidence and agressiveness.

he is still on a rapid decline. but he is still an above average player for 25-30 minutes a night. and better defensively at the 5 then anyone we have. im still disappointed with his lack of leadership, but his effort has certainly picked up - which may be linked to less struggles.

[Prokorov]

He's also clearly the Nets center now. Before I think it was a confusing role for him with Lopez, who is now out for the year. I think with no Lopez in the picture it has helped him improve. But maybe with Lopez starting and KG coming off the bench at center for Lopez would work too for next year, then at the end of the game play them both together.

i dont see lopez and garnett working. you move garnett to the 4 which makes our defense on PFs worse and you have brook at the 5 making our center defense worse. thats why it didnt work the first time. if lopez comes back strong and KG doesnt retire i think you need to not play them together

[Keith Van Horn]

He's also clearly the Nets center now. Before I think it was a confusing role for him with Lopez, who is now out for the year. I think with no Lopez in the picture it has helped him improve. But maybe with Lopez starting and KG coming off the bench at center for Lopez would work too for next year, then at the end of the game play them both together.

i dont see lopez and garnett working. you move garnett to the 4 which makes our defense on PFs worse and you have brook at the 5 making our center defense worse. thats why it didnt work the first time. if lopez comes back strong and KG doesnt retire i think you need to not play them together

Yeah, and we're playing pretty well now without Lopez. KG and Pierce are finally turning it on. We have KG still for another season too, and depending on how the season finishes, maybe we can try to bring PP back on a 1-2 year deal with us to give it a go again for the 14-15 season.

But I don't want to undervalue how important Lopez is to us. See what you think of my trade proposal with the Pelicans in the trade thread.

[Prokorov]

He's also clearly the Nets center now. Before I think it was a confusing role for him with Lopez, who is now out for the year. I think with no Lopez in the picture it has helped him improve. But maybe with Lopez starting and KG coming off the bench at center for Lopez would work too for next year, then at the end of the game play them both together.

i dont see lopez and garnett working. you move garnett to the 4 which makes our defense on PFs worse and you have brook at the 5 making our center defense worse. thats why it didnt work the first time. if lopez comes back strong and KG doesnt retire i think you need to not play them together

Yeah, and we're playing pretty well now without Lopez. KG and Pierce are finally turning it on. We have KG still for another season too, and depending on how the season finishes, maybe we can try to bring PP back on a 1-2 year deal with us to give it a go again for the 14-15 season.

But I don't want to undervalue how important Lopez is to us. See what you think of my trade proposal with the Pelicans in the trade thread.

the celtics last year were a playoff teams... this squad basically adds joe johnson to that team, and a real pg in livingston(they had terry/bradley running point). we can be a scrappy tough out with that kind of team if they play hard.

ill take a look

[Prokorov]

i dont see that trade on there. link?

[bballcool34]

i dont think anything has changed with his play.

i think playing center just makes a huge difference because he cant defend the 4 spot anymore. Offensively i think there are less mouths to feed without williams and lopez and he is less histiant to shoot, which i think helps his confidence and agressiveness.

he is still on a rapid decline. but he is still an above average player for 25-30 minutes a night. and better defensively at the 5 then anyone we have. im still disappointed with his lack of leadership, but his effort has certainly picked up - which may be linked to less struggles.

No offense, but you're not paying attention if you think nothing has changed with his play--- it's hard to really gauge how impressive he has been when you watch. You're right that the positional change is huge for him, but this gets at some of it-- KG's defensive impact lately has been absurd. Saw this on the Celtics forum (credit to Valid):

His impact on the defensive end is almost too big for statistics to grasp, but let's give it a shot: since January 1st, the Nets have allowed opponents to score 107.2 points per 100 possessions with Garnett off the floor, and 87.9 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor.

I fear stating the numbers doesn't quantify how ridiculous they are, so let's make some comparisons. Indiana's league-best defense allows teams to score 92.8 points per 100 possessions. The Garnett-led Nets in 2014 are nearly a full five points better than that. Utah's league-worst defense clocks in at around 107.6 points per 100 possessions, just a hair below the Garnett-benched Nets.

In sum: with Kevin Garnett on the floor, the Nets make the league's best defense look average. With Garnett off the floor, the Nets look like the league's worst defense. It's that significant.

http://thebrooklyngame.com/brooklyn-nets-lineup-its-not-smallball-its-longball/

[exculpatory]

I was recently guilty for the second time in the last 4 seasons of writing KG off to injury & age. Never again. His defensive impact at the 5 (even as he ages) has been immense during the Nets 8-1 streak in 1/2014.

KG (and Paul who also NEVER should be underestimated) will help the Nets have an excellent second half & make noise in the POs.

[Prokorov]

i dont think anything has changed with his play.

i think playing center just makes a huge difference because he cant defend the 4 spot anymore. Offensively i think there are less mouths to feed without williams and lopez and he is less histiant to shoot, which i think helps his confidence and agressiveness.

he is still on a rapid decline. but he is still an above average player for 25-30 minutes a night. and better defensively at the 5 then anyone we have. im still disappointed with his lack of leadership, but his effort has certainly picked up - which may be linked to less struggles.

No offense, but you're not paying attention if you think nothing has changed with his play--- it's hard to really gauge how impressive he has been when you watch. You're right that the positional change is huge for him, but this gets at some of it-- KG's defensive impact lately has been absurd. Saw this on the Celtics forum (credit to Valid):

His impact on the defensive end is almost too big for statistics to grasp, but let's give it a shot: since January 1st, the Nets have allowed opponents to score 107.2 points per 100 possessions with Garnett off the floor, and 87.9 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor.

I fear stating the numbers doesn't quantify how ridiculous they are, so let's make some comparisons. Indiana's league-best defense allows teams to score 92.8 points per 100 possessions. The Garnett-led Nets in 2014 are nearly a full five points better than that. Utah's league-worst defense clocks in at around 107.6 points per 100 possessions, just a hair below the Garnett-benched Nets.

In sum: with Kevin Garnett on the floor, the Nets make the league's best defense look average. With Garnett off the floor, the Nets look like the league's worst defense. It's that significant.

http://thebrooklyngame.com/brooklyn-nets-lineup-its-not-smallball-its-longball/

i am paying attention. very close attention. ive seen every game this year, some of those games multiple times. KG isnt doing anything different now then he was in november. the diference is he is no longer playing the 4 and no longer playing next to lopez/blatche. he is playing center with quicker defenders around him. He is in a better spot and the defensive lineup around him is better.

he hasnt "stepped up"... his body language is better maybe. and he isnt getting discouaraged as often. but his play, effort level. its the same. not having to defend 4's, not having to make up for lopez or blatche, and not having to deal with as many gaurds/wings in the lane has resulted in the massive change. not him finding the fountain of youth.

[FirstBallotKG]

He's also clearly the Nets center now. Before I think it was a confusing role for him with Lopez, who is now out for the year. I think with no Lopez in the picture it has helped him improve. But maybe with Lopez starting and KG coming off the bench at center for Lopez would work too for next year, then at the end of the game play them both together.

I had just saw this on the wiretap and it echoes your take on things, macgyver893. The shift from entering the season as secondary players [role players]; to the month of January becoming part of the primary players [core guys].

For Pierce, it was starting [albeit at the 4] opposed to coming off the bench. And for KG, it was taking on even heavier defensive & rebounding responsibilities after Brook's season-ending injury.

And here are some of the quantifiable metrics that reveal KG's impact - courtesy of stats.nba.com
Percentage of rebounds per chance translates into more 'one and out' defensive stances and less offensive rebounding for the opposition.
Opponents field goal percentage at the rim translates into being a rim-protector, where scorers have to account for KG's defensive presence.

In addition, Garnett's +/- has steadily improved over the last three months:

From a woeful -6.6 in November;
to -0.8 in December;
to an impressive 6.4 in January.

Hopefully, the health of the team continues to be a non-issue. And the approach for the first month of 2014 is the approach for the remainder of the season. Brooklyn dug themselves a big hole, but this is the one season where team hovering around .500 could still garner the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference. The Nets still have a chance of salvaging that, after everything said and done.