Troubadour wrote:Few items:
1) Shaun Livingston v Jarret Jack
Livingston is the vastly superior defender. It's not even close. His size and quickness allows him to defend 1 through 3. Jack is a combo guard whose primary strength is scoring. He is a strong finisher and finds ways to score late in games. There is almost a complete overlap in his skills with Deron Williams' abilities as a player. Starting Joe Johnson against quicker 2s, AK47 at 3, and starting a traditional 4 will reverse any progress the Nets made as a small-ball team.
2) Losing Paul Pierce
He may not have had a great season, but he was the key to this team turning its season around. Without him as a stretch 4, the Nets' style of play would not have emerged. Lionel Hollins is also a traditional coach who I expect to play two bigs at all times.
3) Aging/Injuries
This is not the same Nets team that won 49 games two years ago. Lopez's stress fracture, Williams having surgery on both ankles, and the core becoming one of the oldest in the league will continue to show this year. Williams was woefully inconsistent, Lopez's lack of any mobility will force the Nets to change their defensive schemes, and the aging roster will force Hollins to coach his traditional style.
Williams / Jack
Johnson / Bogdanovic
AK47 / Anderson
KG / Teletovic
Lopez / Plumlee
Plumlee and Bogdanovic offer some youth, but the core players on this roster do not mesh well. Teams will double Lopez off of Kirilenko/Garnett on every possession. Without the spacing to punish teams that double, Lopez will be less effective in his return from a severe injury. Williams is not as adept as he once was in creating off the dribble and creating for others. Iso Joe can carry this team to a few wins, but he's no LeBron or Carmelo when it comes to carrying a team for a season.
Here's my #Hottake for the upcoming season: only one team from the Atlantic Division makes the playoffs (guess which team I think it is...haha).
1) Livingston is also an offensive liability. He has not shooting ability and people often play us 4 on 5 when hes away from the basket. Jack has proven with the Warriors he can be one of the best bench players in the league. I don't see why he can't do that again. The system in Cleveland was bad for him.
2) You didn't watch the Nets. He wasn't the "key" for the Nets. Johnson was the one who elevated his game. His game winner vs OKC was the first step towards the turn around. Pierce was there but he wasn't essential.
3) Fine. You can say Lopez will be unable to return properly from injury. If thats you argument, Im ok with it. However, I don't buy it. Hes been rehabbing all summer and he has shown the ability to return from injury before. Last year he looked really good. He had another dimension to his offensive game and he was finally starting to improve his defense. I expect the best version of Lopez weve ever seen, Second off, how are we an aging roster? Getting rid of Pierce did the opposite.
Deron and Johnson are not old. They are both barely 30 and are not gonna start declining just yet.
Again you say Johnson/Deron/Lopez don't mesh well. Yet, you seem to have forgotten 2013 season existed. They know how to play together.
I just don't see how this team is missing the playoffs. I don't see it winning less than 42 games. At the worst.
