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Bojan Bogdanovic Has Earned His Spot Back As A Starter

By Anthony Parisi

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Bojan Bogdanovic started off his rookie season as a starter and Bogdanovic recently admitted that even he was surprised with the massive amount of minutes that he received. In a YouTube interview in December, Bogdanovic talked about his early journey in the NBA and one of the things he referred to was his playing time.

"“My first goal was to fight for minutes and even I was surprised with fact I played a lot,” Bogdanovic told Basketball Press. “Coach Hollins trusts me and I would say first goal is complete. My second goal is to adapt with team completely and to help Nets in winning as much as possible.”"

After struggling early on as the starter, Bogdanovic was removed from the starting lineup and replaced by Sergey Karasev. Bogdanovic at one point was moved out of the rotation and after never seeing less than 22 minutes of action as a starter Bogdanovic only played in garbage time, if he even played at all. After five consecutive scoreless games, Bogdanovic was given a chance to play in 13 minutes against the Philadelphia 76ers and in that limited time frame Bogdanovic scored 6 points going 3/4 from the field.

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It was a small sample size, but it impressed Lionel Hollins enough to insert Bogdanovic into the starting lineup for the Nets next game against the Detroit Pistons. In 27 minutes, Bogdanovic compiled 14 points while going 5-11 from the field and he looked as comfortable as he has all year on the court. Bogdanovic scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half and he wasn’t afraid to put the ball on the floor and create for himself for the first time in a while. The three point shot still wasn’t falling for Bogdanovic, as he went 0-3 from behind the arc, but his ability to post up, get out in transition and create open looks for himself, made him successful against the Pistons.

Bogdanovic will most likely remain in the starting lineup for now and the Nets can only hope that Bogdanovic finds his touch from three point territory. Bogdanovic is known for being a great offensive player overseas and he has shown flashes of brilliance in scattered spots during his rookie season. Bogdanovic’s best game as an NBA player was six games into the season against the Orlando Magic and Bogdanovic scored 22 points in a Nets win.

Bogdanovic showed off his entire arsenal in that game, he showed his ability to shoot from long range, get out in transition, create off the dribble and he showed his ability to post up smaller defenders. Another thing about Bogdanovic that shouldn’t go unnoticed is his basketball IQ. Bogdanovic has shown during his short stint in the NBA that he knows where to be at all times and he is also very good at cutting to the basket and finishing at the rim. Bogdanovic is a rookie, but he has experience playing professionally in Europe, so the adjustment period shouldn’t take as long as it would for an ordinary rookie. Bogdanovic has earned back his role as a starter and now he has to continue to improve and never look back.

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