Chris Humphreys – USA Today Sports Images
Brook Lopez was the breakout star for the Brooklyn Nets in the 2012-2013 NBA season. Though many people expected Deron Williams and newcomer Joe Johnson to carry the team throughout the season, it was Lopez that was the most consistent performer and the only player out of that trio to be selected as an All-Star.
The Nets were unceremoniously eliminated in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, though, which didn’t sit well with their fans or their front office. However, general manager Billy King and owner Mikhail Prokhorov have re-tooled and done so with a bang this off-season, completing a trade for Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry, as well as signing free-agent forward Andrei Kirilenko.
All of those signings are going to be huge for the Nets as a whole. That group includes two sure-fire Hall-of-Famers, one possible Hall-of-Famer, and a perennial Sixth Man of the Year Candidate. When you add that type of talent, your team is obviously doing quite well.
However, the addition of Pierce and Garnett are going to be huge not just for the team as a whole, but for Lopez’s individual game. There’s no question that the former Boston Celtics aren’t the same players that they once were, but they still demand the respect of defenses. Last season that wasn’t exactly the case when Brooklyn was rolling out Gerald Wallace and Reggie Evans at the two forward positions.
With Garnett in the post or Pierce on the wings, defenses aren’t going to be able to collapse on Lopez the same way that they were able to last season. Lopez should have more open looks, or at least one-on-one looks, on the block and should have the opportunity to make things happen on the boards more often.
In 74 games last season, Lopez put up 19.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game on 52.1 percent shooting. The Nets are going to be much better next season and the Nets are going to have much more talent than they did last season. However, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if, when the season is well underway, Lopez is still the star of this team.
Cody Williams is a Senior Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20, add him on Google+ and like his Facebook page.
