Here are three thoughts on the Nets’ 108-95 win over the Suns Monday night:
1. If you had said two weeks ago the Nets were about to embark on their most difficult remaining regular-season stretch – with six games out of nine against opponents with winning records – entirely without Kevin Garnett and would go 7-2 in those games, most people would’ve laughed you out of the room.
It’s happened in large part because of the play of rookie Mason Plumlee, who has ably stepped into Garnett’s shoes, as he proved again Monday by finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds against brother Miles in the Nets’ comfortable win over Phoenix.
If Plumlee had been given consistent playing time all season – which hasn’t been the case, especially since the Nets went to the one-big set that featured either Kevin Garnett or Andray Blatche getting virtually all the minutes at center – he would have had an excellent shot at finishing in the top three of Rookie of the Year voting.
It will be hard for Plumlee to crack a top three featuring Philadelphia’s Michael Carter-Williams, Orlando’s Victor Oladipo and the Knicks’ Tim Hardaway Jr., but he should have a good chance of cracking the All-Rookie first team, with his main competition being Boston’s Kelly Olynyk and Atlanta’s Pero Antic.
2. Jason Kidd turned some heads in the first quarter when he brought in Jorge Gutierrez in the first quarter against the Suns.
When asked about it afterwards, the Nets coach said he simply wanted to see what Gutierrez, who signed his second 10-day contract with the team Monday morning, could do after only playing him for a few minutes of garbage time during his first 10-day deal.
“I don’t just want to sit someone for 10 days or 20 days and not give him the opportunity to play,” Kidd said. “It’s not fair to us, or for him. … I felt like in a game like this, there was an opportunity. They are going to put a lot of pressure on the perimeter with their guards, so I wanted to see what he could do and I thought that he did a great job.”
Gutierrez didn’t do anything spectacular, finishing with one rebound and one assist. But he ran the team efficiently, got the ball to the open man and didn’t make mistakes. It was the kind of performance you want from your third point guard, and could help Gutierrez stick for the rest of the season after his 10-day expires.
3. Finally, a quick congratulations is in order for Shaun Livingston, who set career highs in points and minutes in a season during Monday’s win. Livingston has been a revelation, and is as good a guy off the court as he’s been a player on it for the Nets this season.
If you go around the league, there isn’t a bad word said about him, and he’s been a lot of places as he’s come back from the devastating knee injury he suffered seven years ago. His story has been a fun one to track, and he deserves some votes for Most Improved Player.