Josh Boone is like the major league player who doesn’t care where in the lineup he bats — he just wants to be in the lineup, period.
“I just want to be out there as much as possible, no matter what the position is or what situation the game is,” Boone said after the Nets’ 86-76 loss to the Celtics on Saturday night. “I just want a chance to play.”
In the last three games, the Nets’ 6-foot-11 forward has played more minutes and has put up the accompanying numbers.
Four games ago against the Bobcats, Boone played for one second — not one minute, but one second. In the Nets’ first four games this season, he averaged a little more than 11 minutes per game, putting up 2.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and zero steals.
In the last three games, though, with a good portion of the Nets’ lineup injured or sick — Yi Jianlian (knee), Devin Harris (groin), Courtney Lee (groin strain), Chris Douglas-Roberts (swine flu) — Boone has averaged almost 28 minutes per game and got his first start of the year. He’s averaged nine points, nine rebounds and 1.33 steals in those games.
And in his last game, on Saturday against Boston at the IZOD Center, Boone racked up a season-high 12 rebounds, just one shy of Kevin Garnett’s game-high total.
“It’s always hard when you’re not playing, but I always stayed ready,” Boone said. “I always did the extra work before and after practice and just waited for my time to come. Just like anybody else.”
Unfortunately for Boone, his team is still winless at 0-7 this year, ranking as the NBA’s only squad without a victory.
The Nets next play the 76ers on Wednesday at home.