Brooklyn Nets: Week One Coach Analysis
Roles: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson & Trevor Booker
Two players who have stuck out during the team’s first three games have been Trevor Booker and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. Both players have started every game for Brooklyn this year and have looked great under new coach Kenny Atkinson.
One of the biggest traits of Booker’s game is his athleticism. Standing six-foot-eight with a six-foot-ten wingspan, Booker has the measurements of a small-ball four. While he doesn’t have the shooting ability to stretch the floor like more celebrated undersized power forwards, the Nets have used his athletic abilities to allow him to make plays on the court. Another way they’ve unleashed Booker is by allowing him to play more with the ball in his hands. Booker has always been a beast on the boards. Now, instead of pulling down a rebound and having to find a guard to outlet the ball to, Atkinson has allowed Booker to bring the ball down the court himself in transition. He’s had success during the year and even will attack off the dribble in the half-court too.
Hollis-Jefferson has always been viewed as a very versatile player. At six-foot-seven, he can play both on and off the ball. Atkinson is making good use of Hollis-Jefferson’s comfort with the ball in his hands. On the first offensive possession of the Pacers game, it was RHJ that initiated the offense, allowing Jeremy Lin to work off the ball. Hollis-Jefferson has a great IQ and feel for the game. His ability as a playmaker allows other Nets to work in roles that are more tailored to their strengths. In Atkinson’s spaced motion offense, he has proved capable of finding the open man.
One of the biggest weaknesses of Hollis-Jefferson’s game has been his jump shot. Last year, he shot an abysmal 40.6 percent on shots from 16-plus feet. For the year, he was a 45.7 percent shooter and had an average shot distance of nine feet. This year, he has displayed a more confident midrange jumper. So far the move goes as follows: he begins to dribble towards the hoop and once cut off by the defender, he does a pull-back dribble–usually between-the-legs–and then awkwardly rises up while fading back to sink the basket.