Nets Halftime Adjustment In Win Over Cavs Should Be Precursor To Permanent Center Change
Nets Head Coach Steve Nash RARELY alters his starting five at the start of the second half from those who were on the floor for the opening tip. I’ve seen games where Brooklyn was run out of the gym from the get-go and then Nash would send out the same group after the intermission expecting different results. Quintessential SMH moments.
So it’s somewhat big news that LaMarcus Aldridge replaced Blake Griffin at center for the start of the third quarter in Brooklyn’s 117-112 victory in Cleveland on Monday night. Aldridge played all 12 minutes in the frame where the Nets roared back from a 12-point deficit to take an 84-82 lead.
The postgame question of the game, then, was if this was a precursor to a more permanent change. I believe at this point in the season, it has to be.
I’m admittedly a little late on this (I believe Daily News writer Kristian Winfield first subscribed to the idea), but that’s only because I admire what Griffin has brought to Brooklyn in terms of toughness (i.e. “The Blue Collar Boys Club”). But while Griffin’s defense and hustle have been impactful, there’s no denying that he’s been in a funk on the offensive end all season and it’s affecting how the Nets are defended. He’s now down to 9-for-56 (16%) from three-point territory after his one miss on Monday, with opponents outright daring him to fire away at will without even a perfunctory contest.
With wing Joe Harris still sidelined with a left ankle sprain, the Nets are hurting for shooters. Too many guys simply don’t have to be guarded outside the paint, especially now that Nash is giving non-shooters DeAndre’ Bembry and James Johnson significant minutes.
You watch Kevin Durant and James Harden navigate loaded defenses, how hard and spectacularly they have to work to create shots for themselves and others, and it has to be frustrating when the right basketball play calls for a pass to an open teammate, only there’s just a few of them who have the ability to knock down an outside shot.
You never have to worry when the ball goes to Aldridge. In fact, it’s more of a shock when his shots don’t go through the basket, though his split (57.7/39.1/78.1) has regressed a bit to the mean since a red-hot start. He’s still second in the league in mid-range field goal percentage (minimum 30 such attempts, per NBA.com) at 61.4% and has been making big plays in clutch situations, like his tip-in with 1:37 remaining to put Brooklyn up by three points on Monday and his back-to-back post-up scores in the final minute that held off Orlando on Friday.
In addition to Aldridge’s 21-point outing, the Nets were somewhat bailed out on Monday by a breakout game from rookie Cam Thomas (of course, the same day I wrote about how the Nets were wise being patient and not expecting much from him this season), who scored 8 of his career-high 11 points in the final 2:32 of the third quarter to help get Brooklyn over the hump. As KD noted afterwards, though, it was only one “little 11-point game” and wondered whether Cleveland even had him in their scouting reports (don’t laugh, it’s plausible--I once asked then Cavs coach Larry Drew about Rodions Kurucs, who as a rookie was starting a third straight game for Brooklyn, and Drew looked at me like I had made the name up—he had no idea who he was, even when I gave him hints like, “Number double-zero” and “Latvian.”). As the schedule toughens, Thomas might not find himself that wide open that often.
So, getting back to the original point, with so few shooters at his disposal, Nash has to balance his rotation so that the offense doesn’t go into the tank for any significant stretch. Staggering Durant and Harden’s minutes, as he did on Monday, makes a huge difference—the Nets actually gained ground during KD’s rest periods at the start of the second and fourth quarters, the latter with Paul Millsap, who made his return from a four-game absence due to personal reasons, at the five.
That was crucial, for if Nash intends for Aldridge to play down the stretch in any game, it makes no sense for him to start the second half in a reserve role, where he might be called upon to play about 18 minutes straight through to the end.
Still, the Nets needed Aldridge to play over 34 minutes to close out an improving but not very good Cavs team, which isn’t ideal for a guy who was forced into a “retirement” last season due to a heart condition. It’s likely the reason that Nash has eased him back into the swing of things by having him come off the bench in the first place.
Things are different now. With Millsap back in the fold and Nicolas Claxton eventually recovering fully from his non-COVID-19 illness, Nash will have the flexibility to allocate his “5” minutes based on matchups and the hot hand.
I feel bad for Griffin, who has been really helpful in bringing a toughness mentality to a team that has lacked one since the 2013-14 season of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, but the Nets are in the accountability business. Griffin wasn’t the only player Nash benched in Monday’s second half—he also relegated guard Jevon Carter to the pine. Hey, it’s produce or sit.
Credit Nash for playing to bank wins against these lesser teams. He knows that the Nets may be 13-5 and sitting atop the Eastern Conference, but they are not yet even close to being a finished product that can last four playoff rounds.
Getting Aldridge in with the starting lineup when the Nets travel to Boston on Wednesday will help move the needle.
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