Brook Lopez may have to go a little Norman Bates if the Nets are going to avoid the infamy of the worst record in NBA history.
By his own admission, Lopez is a nice guy. But the Nets need for him to get nasty, maybe a little psycho, and demand the ball. Or as Vince Carter put it last year, Lopez needs to play like a 7-footer.
“That’s honestly not my nature. Vince was right in play like a 7-footer. Obviously you’ve got to be tough and stuff like that, attack the basket,” Lopez said. “I don’t know if the defense changes or I stop fighting for position or what. I just need to establish myself more, make myself more of an option.”
Sunday’s loss to the Grizzlies was the perfect example. Lopez had his greatest quarter ever, 17 points in the first. By halftime, he had 22 points, threatening his career high of 32 that he set in November against the Blazers, the team the Nets face tonight at the Meadowlands (7:30; YES, WFAN 660 AM).
But after halftime, Lopez got just three shots. Yes, Memphis adjusted, but Lopez became just another Net offensively.
“Brook was going very good. We had a lot of movement, a lot of easy catches,” interim coach Kiki Vandeweghe said. “So they collapsed everybody in the paint.”
The Nets started taking too many jumpers. Their attacking mentality waned, jumpers went up and missed far more often than not. The Nets, who shot 55 percent to lead by 11 at halftime, shot 33 percent after halftime to lose by 10.
“We just went away from a lot of things in the second half that helped us play so well,” Lopez said. “I wasn’t happy. I thought we went away from team ball.”
It was only the 14th time all year they led at the half.
“You want to force-feed him, but at the same time, you want to put him in a good position,” point guard Devin Harris said. “They did a good job of fronting him, but then it’s my job to swing the ball and try to get it to him on the other side. That wasn’t happening.”