In their first game of the preseason, the Brooklyn Nets played host to Maccabi Tel-Aviv, the former team of Brooklyn’s back-up small forward Alan Anderson. It was a day of firsts for Brooklyn as this was their first game in the post Jason Kidd (coaching) era, the first game under coach Lionel Hollins, the first game for the Nets since the departure of Paul Pierce, the NBA debut of Bojan Bogdanovic, and the first game back for All-Star center Brook Lopez since his foot injury last December.
The new starting lineup from 1 to 5 has Deron Williams playing on the ball at the 1, Joe Johnson back from small forward to shooting guard, Bojan Bogdanovic replacing Paul Pierce at small forward, Kevin Garnett is back at power forward after spending most of last year at the 5, and Brook Lopez at center once again.
The rumors continue to swirl about Nets majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov possibly selling his majority stake or combining assets with Guggenheim Sports and Entertainment, the organization behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The rumors did not seem to be too much of a distraction for the Brooklyn Nets on the court as they won their first preseason contest in a blowout fashion, 111-94. It appears as if Lionel Hollins’ attempt to light a fire under Brook Lopez was a success as the Brooklyn big man was back to his old tricks, looking healthy and dominant in the post, leading all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. It was a welcome sight to see for a Brooklyn team who sorely missed his strength and efficiency in the post during their playoff run against the Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat. Lopez played for a total of 23 minutes and the team will continuously evaluate the amount of minutes he gets as concerns for his health remain at the forefront.
Coming off off-season surgery to both of his ankles, Deron Williams looked agile, scoring 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting in 28 minutes, including connecting on his final four attempts. Backup point guard Jarrett Jack, in his first game with the Nets, went 3-for-8 resulting in 8 points. Joe Johnson followed D-Will shooting 4-of-12 for 14 points in 27 minutes, typical fashion for the workhorse shooting guard.
In stark contrast to his predecessor, Lionel Hollins was generous with Kevin Garnett, keeping him on the court for 19 minutes in which he went 2-of-4 from the field and 2-2 at the stripe. His backups, Mirza Teletovic and Mason Plumlee scored 13 and 12 respectively, with Teletovic gong 2-of-5 from beyond the arc. Alan Anderson did not play against his former team due to a sore abdominal muscle. It should be noted that after the influx of athleticism from second round picks Markel Brown, Cory Jefferson, and Sergey Karasev, the Nets scored 17 points in transition to Tel-Aviv’s 12.
In their winning effort, the Nets showcased an early ability to score in versatile fashion, with good floor spacing, and the ability to score in the paint at will when the shots were not falling. It will likely be a little while before real chemistry develops between the old Nets’ players and the new additions, but they can be encouraged by the sharp play of Deron Williams and Brook Lopez, both coming off surgeries as well as the production from their bench. Up next for Brooklyn, they head to Shanghai to take on DeMarcus Cousins and the Sacramento Kings on October 12th.
Maccabi Tel-Aviv will continue its battles with NBA teams as they face the Washington Wizards next on October 15.