When Avery Johnson was fired as the head coach of The Brooklyn Nets on
December 27,2012, you know that it was put up or shut up time for this
team and since then The Nets have responded to interim head coach P.J.
Carlesimo. At the time of Johnson’s dismissal The Nets were 6.5 games
behind The New York Knicks for first place in The Atlantic Division.
Less than a month later following The Nets 88-85 victory over The Knicks
on Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Madison Square Garden, along with a
91-83 victory tonight in Minneapolis over The Minnesota Timberwolves,
Brooklyn is only one half game behind The Knickerbockers for first
place.
Under Carlesimo, The Nets are 12-2 which included a 110-93
victory over the defending Western Conference Champion Oklahoma City
Thunder on January 2nd. The Nets did get off to a good start under
Johnson as they opened the season with a record of 11-4. An unpatient
front office for The Nets led by team owner Mikhail Prokhorov decided
that it was time for Johnson to be relieved of his duties after the
team’s record slipped to 14-14.
With new players on The Nets such
as shooting guard Joe Johnson I expected that it would take some time
for this team to gel and Johnson’s firing was the wake-up call that was
needed. The Nets are now clicking on all cylinders as they are currently
the hottest team in The National Basketball Association. The focal
point of The Nets offense is point guard Deron Williams. The month of
January has been Williams’ best statistical month of the season as he is
averaging 18.8 points per game. In The Nets victory over The Knicks,
Williams dished out 12 assists. Williams is also shooting over 41% from
the field for the month as he appears to have put the nagging wrist
injury behind him. Nets general manager Billy King made center Brook
Lopez a very wealthy man in the offseason by giving him a four-year, $60
million deal to remain with The Nets. Most people thought that Lopez
would be the trade bait needed to acquire center Dwight Howard from The
Orlando Magic, but Lopez is making a name for himself. Lopez’s 18.5
points and 7.4 rebounds that he is averaging this season are not career
highs, but he appears to be more assertive in the paint this season.
Since returning from an ankle injury in mid-December, Lopez has scored
in double figures in all but one game for The Nets including 22 points
tonight against Minnesota.
The two unsung heroes on this team
might be forwards Reggie Evans and Gerald Wallace. Evans came to The
Nets via a sign-and-trade over the summer as he came from The Los
Angeles Clippers. Evans is leading the team in rebounds as he is
averaging 9.0 per game which was highlighted by a 23 rebound game
earlier this month against The Philadelphia 76ers and a 20 rebound
performance against The Atlanta Hawks. With Johnson, Williams, and Lopez
taking the majority of the shots, Wallace is only averaging 9.5 points
per game which is his lowest points per game production since the
2003-2004 season when he was a member of The Sacramento Kings. Both men
however have brought a toughness to The Nets. This is the same toughness
that Johnson was attempting to instill in this team prior to his
termination. What makes Wallace and Evans unique is that they both
embody what The Borough of Brooklyn is all about. They are both tough,
scrappy, and they will do whatever it takes to help their team get a
victory.
The Nets are coming up on a key three-game stretch that
will go into February. The Nets will host LeBron James and The Miami
Heat on January 30 which is followed by home games against The Chicago
Bulls and The Los Angeles Lakers. The Heat are the benchmark of what The
Nets want to be as they are the defending NBA Champions. The Bulls are
in contention in The Eastern Conference minus their All-Star point guard
Derrick Rose. Despite The Lakers sub .500 record, they are still a
formidable team with guard Kobe Bryant not to mention that Howard is an
unhappy member of The Lakers after coming so close last summer to being
in Brooklyn which will make it interesting to see how Net fans will
greet him.
Carlesimo has seen plenty of highs and lows in the
world of basketball. In 1989, Carlisemo led The Seton Hall Pirates to
The NCAA Tournament Championship Game. In 1997 while he was the head
coach of The Golden State Warriors, Carlesimo was choked by Warriors
guard Latrell Sprewell. Most people didn’t realize that Carlesimo was
still involved in basketball until Johnson was fired and now he is a
candidate to coach The Eastern Conference team at next month’s All-Star
Game. With Carlesimo things have indeed turned around for The Nets in a
“New York minute”.
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