For anyone who needed proof of just how much the Nets missed Brook Lopez while he was out for seven games with a sprained left ankle, all the evidence was on display in the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s 97-88 win over the Grizzlies.
With the Nets trying to maintain their lead midway through the fourth quarter — something they have struggled to do several times this season — they rode their big man to the win.
At one point, the Nets fed Lopez in the post on seven consecutive possessions, the first five of which — while being single-covered by Grizzlies center Kosta Koufos — resulted in either Lopez baskets or trips to the free-throw line. Then, once the Grizzlies finally started bringing double-teams to try and stop him, Lopez, smartly kicked the ball out to Mirza Teletovic and Joe Johnson for open 3-pointers.
Lopez finished with 20 points and nine rebounds, including 12 points in the fourth quarter, as the Nets took advantage of arguably the league’s best scoring big man.
“When Brook is out there, it’s simple,” Teletovic said. “You get him the ball, and they have to double-team. If not, he’s going to score every time.
“When you have me and Joe outside and [Kevin Garnett], who can shoot, on the high post, they have a lot of difficult things to defend.”
That was the situation the Grizzlies found themselves — stuck between not wanting to leave the Nets’ shooters on the perimeter, but knowing Koufos couldn’t handle Lopez down low.
That was something the Nets were missing in a big way when Lopez sat out for two weeks after spraining his ankle late in regulation of the Nets’ 100-98 overtime win in Phoenix on Nov. 15. The Nets went 1-6 in the seven games Lopez missed.
“The nice thing about the offense down at the end is going inside, and we were getting wide-open looks on the perimeter, but also Brook understanding when to take it,” Nets coach Jason Kidd said after Saturday’s game. “I was joking with him that we have to get you to the free-throw line, but he’s just getting back in the rhythm of things, but [he showed] his dominance, and being a guy we can throw the ball and play off of.”
With Lopez sidelined, the Nets lacked a true inside presence at both ends of the floor, missing his scoring in the low post offensively and his ability to protect the rim defensively. It was his defensive presence, in particular, that hampered the Nets. They have performed like a Top 10 defensive team when he’s on the floor, giving up 100.6 points per 100 possessions per NBA.com’s stats page. Without him, they have been the worst team in the NBA, allowing 110.1 points per 100 possessions.
But with Lopez back and a favorable slate of mostly home games on tap for the first few weeks of this month, the Nets have a chance to ride their now healthy big man back to relevancy in the pathetic Eastern Conference.
“Brook’s huge, man,” Garnett said. “I’ve been on his bandwagon since I got here and kind of witnessed it first-hand, so I’m going to keep encouraging it.”