The Nets are starting their third season in Brooklyn with their third new-hire head coach in three years.  Lionel Hollins was last seen leading the Grizzlies defensive prominence in the Western Conference, famously beating Kevin Durant and the Westbrook-less Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite Memphis moving in a different personnel direction, the Grizzlies have chosen to keep his system of play.  Meanwhile in Brooklyn the “Dwightmare” is a distant memory, and the Nets have committed to Brook Lopez for the long-term as their only home-grown star player. Entering his 7th season with the Nets, the All-Star center is coming off his second major foot injury and multiple surgeries. Looking to fit into a system for Lionel Hollins that heavily emphasizes screen settings and the pick and roll, the Brooklyn Nets are looking for Brook Lopez to continue his streak of high level play while adapting and improving his game dramatically.

Lopez, like Carmelo Anthony and Lebron James, has slimmed down considerably in effort to be more athletic, and run the floor more effectively, while second year player and back-up center Mason Plumlee, who ran the floor well during the 2013-14 season, is looking to develop a skill set more appropriate for the power forward position in order to eventually succeed Kevin Garnett as the Nets’ starting four.

Following Brook Lopez’s injury, the Nets were able to utilize a small-ball lineup down the stretch of the 2013-14 campaign, but Brook’s post presence and physical stature were especially missed in games when the Nets’ offense was stagnant, particularly in the 7-game series - a size-lacking Toronto Raptors squad. It’s widely agreed upon that Brook Lopez is one of the better, if not the best offensive center in the NBA when healthy. His post presence has been dominant, and he has the ability to consistently knock down jumpers and even perimeter shots, but he’s relatively flawed on the other side of the ball when compared to other elite centers.

Lionel Hollins primarily ran his offense in Memphis through Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, and will undoubtedly make good use of Plumlee, Garnett, and Brook’s talents. The Grizzlies were known for their defensive prowess and a “grit and grind” defense.  Hollins, whose personality and philosophy differs dramatically from last year’s coach Jason Kidd, is in a unique position to turn Lopez into the best well rounded center in the league. The competition Lopez faces for this challenge come with varied skill sets and in varied sizes. Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls is essentially a “point center” and while he may not be as prolific a scorer as Brook Lopez, he plays with tenacity and heart, in addition to being an extremely gifted facilitator, passer, and shot blocker. Before his departure from Orlando, Dwight Howard, who had originally wanted to play in Brooklyn before settling on the Lakers, then Rockets, was one of the more dominant centers in the league. His height, ability to run the floor, and post presence makes him extremely formidable in spite of his inability to shoot costless throws consistently, and his reputation for being relatively undisciplined. His “fun over winning” attitude led to him being unhappy in Los Angeles where he would clash with the ultra-competitive personality of Kobe Bryant.

While Hollins wants Lopez to space the floor and set screens in the new flex system, he’s also emphasizing that Lopez needs to be more aggressive and understandably so.  In spite of his rare skill set, Lopez was out hustled by Joakim Noah in the first round of the playoffs of the 2012-2013 season. While Brook will still be given leniency to shoot from midrange, Hollins primarily wants him under the basket for easy buckets. This is fitting, given the style of play Hollins brings from Memphis that emphasizes more traditional roles for position players. Aside from playing more aggressively on offense where he’s already very difficult to guard, Hollins wants him to improve as a player overall, including crashing the glass, passing more frequently and becoming a better defender, including blocking shots and passing out of the paint.

With Garnett at the tail end of his career, and Joe Johnson continuing to perform at a high level, it leaves Brook Lopez as the primary project for Hollins to work on. Making Brook Lopez into a two-way player can give the Nets an unexpected edge in an Eastern Conference where there’s relative parity through seeds 3 to 8. Hollins is a strict disciplinarian and is already putting the Nets through a rigorous training regimen. Considering that Hollins was able to develop Marc Gasol into the defender he is today, it’s safe to assume that Brook has a shot at becoming the most well rounded center in the league. While his improvement under a new, stable head coach who knows the X’s and O’s is all but guaranteed, what’s not guaranteed is his health. While it’s hoped that Brook Lopez’s major injuries are a thing of the past, it’s hard to not look back at their frequency and severity without some worry.  Should he remain in good health, we should expect to see Brook Lopez make a triumphant return to the court and expect him to rise in rankings amongst the league’s other big men.