For the past two seasons, Nets coach Avery Johnson has had to try to figure out a way to fill out a regular rotation of players to put on the floor each night.
Now, after the team dramatically overhauled its roster in the offseason, Johnson has the opposite problem: deciding which players won’t fit.
The Nets have a clearly defined starting five of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries and Brook Lopez. But after C.J. Watson and MarShon Brooks at the backup guard spots, the Nets have several other players fighting for the final two or three spots in Johnson’s nightly rotation.
For now, Johnson said his backups at each spot are Watson, Brooks, Josh Childress, Mirza Teletovic and Andray Blatche, but quickly added it all will be subject to change.
“The problem is Keith Bogans is … he’s a great defender,” Johnson said. “He has a skill and experience that you can depend on. And Deron can play some two. So do you go with a 10-man rotation, or do you go with nine? Or do you go to an 11-man rotation, because then you’ve got guys like Reggie [and] my young boy Toko [Shengelia], who is going to be pretty interesting to see what he does in the preseason, [and] Josh Childress wants some minutes.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how it all shakes out. … It’ll be interesting.”
But after struggling to fill out a rotation in each of his first two seasons with the Nets, Johnson said he is happy he has to find a way to spread the minutes around.
“It’s a good problem to have,” he said. “And the main thing is, the guys that we have are all about winning a championship.
“We’ve talked to them about this is their last opportunity, because this is their only opportunity, to be the best team in the NBA. Just trust that I’ll put the guys out there in the right spots, and if we don’t get it right we’ll keep tinkering with it.”
* Tyshawn Taylor was hindered for the second straight day with a strained right quadriceps. Johnson said the injury likely will keep Taylor out until at least tomorrow. The rookie point guard was only able to get some shots up yesterday, and was completely held out of non-contact drills.
Also spending some time on the sidelines was Blatche, who was held out of the second half of the morning practice with back spasms as a precaution. The 6-foot-11 forward, who said he tweaked his back while defending Lopez in the post, said he was feeling good by the time the morning practice ended, and he returned to practice in the afternoon session.