Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Without Evans and Lopez, Avery Counting On the Fans

The front court grows thinner as the schedule goes on. Thankfully, the injuries are not too serious as far as we know. But for tonight's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Nets will be without both Brook Lopez (day-to-day with a strained right foot) and Reggie Evans (flu).

Without those two, that leaves just Kris Humphries and Andray Blatche to handle the likes of Serge Ibaka, Perkins and penetrating Westbrook and Durant. Off the bench we'll likely get to see more Mirza Teletovic, who has been disappointing in his few (48) minutes thus far.

Reggie Evans has been beyond spectacular for the Nets by doing what he does best, grabbing rebounds. Evans is averaging 8.4 boards a game... in just 19 minutes of play. That equates to 15.5 rebounds for 36 minutes of play! He has a total rebounding percentage rate of 25.2%, which leads the league (yes, it's higher than Anderson Varejao's rate of 24.9%).

Brook Lopez has been the key to the Nets offense with Deron Williams and Joe Johnson struggling to find their shot. There is no need to pull out the stats for this one. His defense has improved as well, although it is still not at the level most would like, it's making strides. He's averaging 2.5 blocks a game to go with 6.8 rebounds. His absence is a huge loss but for now Andray Blatche has been able to fill in on offense.

With the loss of these two players, the front-line is depleted, a weakness in the defense Avery has been working so hard to improve.

So now Avery Johnson makes a plea to you, to us: the fans.
"I hope our fans give Oklahoma City a rude awakening sort of like how their fans do," Johnson said. "They have a serious home court advantage down there. We’re building it here. Our fans with their "Brooklyn" chants really get in the game. Hopefully it energizes our team because we’re going to need it tonight because one of our high-energy players (Evans) is not playing."
The fans have been great, compared to the crowds of Prudential Center. The "Broook-lyn" chants have gained appraisal everywhere. Yet, these mainly pop up in the 4th quarter, when the Nets are trying to maintain their lead. That likely won't be the case tonight against a team like the Thunder. The fans need to starting pumping the stadium early, with cheers aside from the Brooklyn one.

Share this post
  • Share to Facebook
  • Share to Twitter
  • Share to Google+
  • Share to Stumble Upon
  • Share to Evernote
  • Share to Blogger
  • Share to Email
  • Share to Yahoo Messenger
  • More...

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Please be courteous to others when discussing your opinions. Swearing will not be tolerated.

 
Site Meter