What Brooklyn Net Fans Can Be Thankful For
Thanksgiving is a time to be grateful for what you have rather than what you don’t have. The first 15 games of this Nets’ season hasn’t been pleasant, but here are a few things to be thankful for.
The Stepien Rule:
The infamous Cleveland Cavaliers owner/de facto general manager, Ted Stepien, made a bad habit of trading future draft picks for marginal veteran players. Sound familiar?
That being said, the NBA has a rule in place that prohibits teams from trading first-round draft picks in successive seasons. If this rule didn’t exist there’s a good chance you wouldn’t see the Nets drafting in the first round until 2020 or later. Be grateful for the rule even if it led to those darn pick-swaps.
RHJ:
For a team that has whiffed so many times over the years when drafting wing players (Terrence Williams, Antonie Wright, & MarShon Brooks to name a few), seeing Rondae Hollis-Jefferson’s impact on the court is a sight for sore eyes.
The counting stats may not impress the outside viewer, but the advanced metrics show that Hollis-Jefferson ranks fourth overall in Win Shares, trailing only fellow hyphenated rookies Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein, as well as Kristaps Porzingis. Not bad company at all!
I think it’s safe to say the Nets hit the jackpot with their draft night swap with Portland and had that event taken place now, you have to assume RHJ would be selected much higher than 23rd overall…maybe top 10.
Dr. Martin O’Malley, Dr. Riley Williams III, and Dr. James Nunley:
I am not referring to the Democratic Presidential candidate, Martin O’Malley, but the member of team of the doctors who reconstructed Brook Lopez’s foot and saved his career in the process.
With the exception of the soreness that scared the absolute sh*t out of us earlier this year, Lopez’s health doesn’t seem to be much of a concern. Since working the rust off his game a year ago and regaining his confidence, the Nets’ big man has performed at an All-Star level.
Cynics said that seven years into his career his game couldn’t evolve any more but Lopez’s per game averages in blocks, rebounds, and points rank amongst his career best. It just goes to show you can teach an old dog new tricks.
It’s the Final Countdown:
Assuming the Nets fail to qualify for the Eastern Conference Postseason, there are only 67 games remaining in the Joe Johnson era…but who’s counting?
With nearly 40,000 minutes of mileage accumulated over his fourteen-year career, the Nets’ forward appears to be shot physically. Aside from a slight uptick in his assist numbers, all of the advanced analytics show that Johnson is hurting Brooklyn. His PER currently sits way below the league average at 9.4, his True Shooting Percentage of 42.8% is the worst in his career by a wide margin, and the differential between his offensive (93) and defensive ratings (111) is nearly twenty.
I am grateful for all of the miracles Joe Jesus has provided over the past three years but with the precipitous decline in his game, I have switched over to atheism.
The future may not be as bright as you’d hope, but just remember Nets fans, it could always be worse.
