One month into their tenure in Brooklyn, it has become abundantly clear these are not the same old Nets.
After years of obscurity across the Hudson River, the Nets officially kicked off the Brooklyn Era of the franchise on Nov. 3 against the Raptors and haven’t looked back. Just a few weeks later, after last night’s win at Orlando, they are tied with the Knicks atop the Atlantic Division at 11-4, and sit second only to the Heat in the Eastern Conference.
In addition to their on-court success, the Nets have also become one of the hottest and highest-profile teams in the league. They have already had several national television games, including Monday’s overtime win over the Knicks, have been featured on this year’s version of NBA TV’s “The Association” and are among the league leaders in merchandise sold through the NBA Store and its online counterpart since the beginning of the season.
But the change isn’t just limited to exposure, as the Nets have seen their success come as much from their offense — which was expected to be impressive — but from their defense, which wasn’t. After ranking 29th in the league in defensive efficiency last season, the Nets had improved to 11th entering last night’s game, and leaned on their defense to pick up arguably their three best wins of the season against the Clippers, Knicks and Celtics during the past 10 days.
MVP
Brook Lopez has been the key to the hot start for the Nets. They have made a point of pounding the ball to him early in games — he is averaging 7.9 points on 67 percent shooting in the first quarter — and have also made him a focal point of the offense late in close games.
But Lopez also deserves credit for improvements in his defense and rebounding this season. While his rebounding numbers still aren’t where the Nets would like him to be, he’s grabbing his highest percentage of rebounds since the 2009-10 season. And although his defense, too, is a work in progress, Lopez has improved as a rim protector, blocking a career high 2.5 shots per game.
The only question facing Lopez is how long his most recent foot injury, which the Nets are calling a minor ligament sprain in his right foot — the same one he injured twice last season — will keep him out of the starting lineup.
LVP
The Nets signed Bosnian power forward Mirza Teletovic to the “mini” mid-level exception over the summer to be an outside-shooting weapon. Instead, he has been relegated to mostly watching from the bench, and has been inactive for several games.
Teletovic undoubtedly will get a chance at some point this season, and clearly has a large learning curve after spending his entire career playing in Europe. But so far this season, he has barely had an impact on the Nets, appearing in just four games entering last night’s action.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Nets will get to enjoy plenty of home cooking this month, as they’ll spend the vast majority of their time in the friendly confines of Brooklyn and the Barclays Center.
Of their 16 games this month, only six of them will be on the road — including one against the Knicks at the Garden — and they won’t play consecutive road games all month. They will, however, have five back-to-back sets of games, and twice will play four games in five nights. It’s also a schedule filled with marquee opponents, including two more games against the Knicks and one game each against the Heat, Thunder, Bulls and Spurs.
But all eyes will be focused on the team’s noon tip-off on Christmas Day at Barclays Center, when they will face the Celtics — a little less than a month after the teams’ brawl this past Wednesday in Boston.
BIGGEST COACHING DECISION
Before training camp began, MarShon Brooks spoke of being a contender for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award. But after suffering a sprained left ankle when stepped on Andray Blatche’s foot in a morning shootaround in Orlando on Nov. 9, the second-year shooting guard has been left out of the rotation thanks to the stellar play of Jerry Stackhouse. Brooks has the chance to be a dynamic scorer off the bench and give the Nets another way to attack defenses, particularly when they want to give Joe Johnson a breather. It will be interesting to see how Avery Johnson handles him, and if he tries to find a way to work Brooks back into the mix and make him a regular rotation fixture.