Gerald Wallace #45 against Kevin Durant #35 (NBAE/Getty Images)
The last Nets’ coach to go 11-4 in a month won Coach of the Month honors, only to be fired a few weeks later.
Could the same fate befall P.J. Carlesimo?
We say that with tongue firmly in cheek, as it’s very unlikely Carlesimo will follow the man he replaced, Avery Johnson, out the door this month. But it is undeniable the Nets have enjoyed plenty of success during the first few weeks Carlesimo has been interim coach. The Nets have gone 13-5 since Carlesimo took over in late December, including 11-4 in January.
But after the Nets pulled off an upset win in Oklahoma City that jumpstarted them to a seven-game winning streak to begin the month, as well as winning 10 of their first 11 games under Carlesimo, the team slumped to end the month, dropping three of its final four games.
Still, even with the recent dip, the improved play under Carlesimo has been evident. The Nets ranked third in the NBA in January in offensive rating, scoring over 108 points per 100 possessions. And while their defense still wasn’t elite, it has seen improvement under Carlesimo, ranking 14th in the league in defensive rating in January after giving up just under 103 points per 100 possessions.
GAME OF THE MONTH: Nets 110, Thunder 93Jan. 2
The Nets were less than a week removed from the firing of Avery Johnson and coming off of a demoralizing blowout loss in San Antonio on New Year’s Eve when they took on the Thunder in Oklahoma City, one of the league’s toughest places to play. But after the Thunder tied the game at 85 with a little more than seven minutes remaining, the Nets finished the game on a 25-8 run to come up with their biggest win of the season and kick off a seven-game winning streak to begin the month.
MVP
The Nets have seen improved play this month from star point guard Deron Williams, but this team wouldn’t be where it is without Brook Lopez’s continued run of excellent form. In 15 games in January, Lopez averaged 19.1 points on 54.5 percent shooting and 78.4 percent shooting from the foul line, all above his season averages. He also has scored at least 20 points in eight of those 15 games, and has blocked a shot in all but one.
That’s the kind of production the Nets have been getting all season from Lopez, who was deservedly named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team Wednesday by NBA commissioner David Stern after the league’s coaches snubbed him from the initial list of reserves last week.
With his play this season, culminating in his first All-Star berth, Lopez has largely put the questions surrounding him after signing a four-year, $61 million deal as a restricted free agent this summer behind him. After over a year of speculation about the center’s future lying elsewhere as the Nets chased after the ever-elusive Dwight Howard, Lopez has cemented himself as a key part of the Nets’ foundation moving forward.
LVP
Ever since he was benched shortly before Avery Johnson was dismissed last month, Kris Humphries hasn’t been able to get his game back on track. His numbers in January are down across the board, as he’s playing fewer minutes, scoring less points, grabbing less rebounds and shooting a worse percentage from the field.
Nagging injuries, including an abdominal strain and a sore left ankle, have kept Humphries from getting into any kind of rhythm coming off the bench, as has the crowded Nets’ frontcourt. But given the fact the Nets are paying Humphries $12 million this season and next, averaging 6.3 points and 6.6 rebounds coming off the bench after averaging a double-double each of the last two seasons is below expectations.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Nets will have their hands full this month, with eight of their 12 opponents having winning records, beginning with the Bulls tonight. That doesn’t include the Lakers’ first trip to Brooklyn next week.
In fact, the Nets will play seven consecutive games against above .500 teams on either side of the All-Star break, a stretch that, if they fall flat during it, could make challenging the Knicks for the Atlantic Division title very difficult.
But all eyes will undoubtedly be on the Lakers’ visit when Howard steps foot inside Barclays Center for the first time after openly pining to play there last season, and the Nets doing everything they could to make that happen.
BIGGEST COACHING DECISION
Since taking over for Johnson, Carlesimo has repeatedly said his biggest issue moving forward is to figure out exactly how he is going to handle his rotation, and particularly his overcrowded mix of big men.
This remains the case, and on several different levels. The first is Brook Lopez, who is averaging less than 30 minutes per game and should be getting somewhere closer to 35 minutes per night, in order to take advantage of the unique mismatches he presents at the offensive end.
But it doesn’t stop there. Carlesimo needs to settle on a consistent rotation of Lopez, Andray Blatche, Humphries, Reggie Evans and Mirza Teletovic, in order for them to know exactly what their roles are, as they did during the first few weeks of the season.