Brooklyn Nets Player Profiles: MarShon Brooks

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2011-2012 stats: 56 gms, 29 mpg, 43% FG, 31% 3-pt FG, 3.6 rpg, 2.3 apg, 0.9 spg, 2.1 to, 12.6 ppg. 

Marshon was a pleasant surprise on the New Jersey Nets last season, quickly becoming a starter despite being the 25th pick in the 2011 draft. He surprised many teams at the start of the season with his solid jump shot and ability to get to the basket. However, in the middle of the season teams began focusing more on Marshon, which led to a huge drop in field goal percentage and productivity on offense. Along with proven NBA star Deron Williams, Marshon was the main weapon for the Nets on offense, and this task often appeared too much for the rookie to handle last season. On defense, Brooks has a lot of room for improvement. He looked lost last season and was unable to guard craftier players. He is athletic and does have plenty of potential to improve on his defensive issues this season. Marshon can still be a star in this league, but he may have to wait a few years for this to happen.

Offseason report: Avoided being traded in Dwight Howard madness, starred in Orlando Summer League, starred in Dru Joyce Summer League (Cleveland). 

Marshon had a busy summer trying to improve his game so that he will make less mistakes than he did last season. The most important part of his offseason was that he was not traded and will join the Nets in Brooklyn this season. Many thought that he would be the centerpiece, along with Brook Lopez, in a Dwight Howard trade, but this trade never ended up happening and Brooks is happy to remain a Net. This looming trade probably impacted his play in the Orlando Summer League.In the first few games of this league, with the Howard trade looming above him, Brooks did not play well at all, including a game where he shot 0-10. However, after the trade rumor passed, Brooks scored a record-tying 34 points in the last game of the league, showing what he is capable of doing against low-level NBA competition. Brooks kept busy the rest of the summer too, scoring 91 points in 2 games in the Dru Joyce Summer League in Cleveland, Ohio. Expect Marshon to be in shape and ready to play once training camp rolls around.

Predictions for 2012-13: In less playing time, Marshon will display a more well-rounded and in-control game. We will see less turnovers and bad decisions from Marshon this season and we will see a much improved version of the talented player we saw last year. 

2011-12 was a good learning experience for Brooks, but 2012-13 is where he will really step up his game. Marshon has said that his goal for this season is to win the NBA 6th man of the year, and I believe that he will be one of the finalists for this prestigious award this season. There will be much less pressure from opposing defenses on Marshon because of the talent that will be around him, and this should lead to much better shot selection for him. Brooks also claims that his passing is underrated, so he wants his assist numbers also to improve this season. On defense, my expectations for Brooks are not very high, but maybe I will be pleasantly surprised. The best case scenario for Marshon is that he will be much like what James Harden was for Oklahoma City last season. He will be part of a very talented team and be an offensive sparkplug off the bench. The worst case scenario is that he shows little to no improvement from last season’s unpolished player and goes into Avery Johnson’s doghouse.

Projections for 2012-13: 15 ppg, 4 rpg, 3 apg, 1 spg, 46% FG, 36% 3-pt FG, 2 to.