The Brooklyn Nets will need all hands on deck to continue winning. Here are four players that will be crucial down in Orlando.
With star players Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving being sidelined for major portions of the season, the Brooklyn Nets have been reliant on other guys to win games and be productive for them.
Unfortunately, the NBA Orlando restart will be no exception as both Durant and Irving are not expected to be available when the season resumes in late July. Therefore, it’s time to turn the spotlight on the Brooklyn role players that will be vital in order for the Nets to return to the playoffs and make some noise thereafter.
While players like Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert obviously are important to the overall team success, more guys need to step up and fill their roles to pick up both the offensive load as well defend at an extremely high level.
All eyes are on next year for the Nets when health will be on their side, but for right now, all they can focus on is creating winning habits down in Orlando and try to carry that into next season.
Here are 4 other players that will be crucial to the Nets’ success in Orlando.
Jarrett Allen
Before the 2019-20 regular season was cut short, Jarrett Allen had been moved to the bench in favor of DeAndre Jordan. In the Nets’ final two games, Jordan had been getting close to ten more minutes than Allen, and although this is a small sample size, one has to wonder who will be the starting center in just a few weeks’ time.
Regardless of if Allen starts or not, in order for Brooklyn to be successful he must be a contributor, especially at the defensive end.
While he sometimes may lack focus or motivation on defense, Allen has the potential to be an absolutely elite rim protector, and at some point be comparable to Rudy Gobert or Anthony Davis when it comes to shot-blocking.
When Allen is engaged and making highlight-level blocks, the Nets defense takes on an entirely different form. Taking into account the level of big men talent in the Eastern conference (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, etc.), Allen must step up to the task to stop these potent offenses in their tracks.
If the Nets want to make some noise, Allen must be a brick wall in front of the rim and dissuade offensive threats from attacking the paint.
Joe Harris
Since finding a home in Brooklyn, Joe Harris has established himself as one of the premier catch and shoot specialists in the league. A big reason the Nets were able to secure a playoff berth last season was because of Harris and his ability to consistently knock down shots. The team will need that heading into the restart.
In 2018-19, Harris had an absolutely insane 3-point percentage during the regular season, shooting 47.1%. Following that historic regular season, though, the Virginia product struggled mightily in the first-round series against the 76ers, shooting only 19% from 3.
Harris got back to his old ways this season and was a marksman from distance, but in order for the Nets to survive more than a couple of weeks in Orlando, they’ll need their sharpshooter to hit regularly from behind the arc. If Harris can keep the defense spread out, it gives players like Spencer Dinwiddie more room to operate and thus make Brooklyn even more dangerous.
Assuming the Nets are able to re-sign him next season, throwing him into an offense with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving will absolutely be scary. He’s going to have A LOT of catch-and-shoot opportunities from the three-point line.
Taurean Prince
When the Nets traded for Taurean Prince last offseason, they wanted a versatile defender who can be a serious offensive threat without needing the ball, and for the most part, he has filled that role in his Brooklyn tenure. Prince has been a mainstay in the starting lineup and for good reason. With Kevin Durant missing the entire season, Prince has fit in seamlessly, defending at a high level as well as providing offensive sparks from time to time.
Prince is arguably the best perimeter defender the Nets have, and with the possible playoff matchups the Nets may face, he will be as important as anyone. Brooklyn will most likely see All-Stars like Khris Middleton or Jayson Tatum in the first round of the playoffs and, depending on what Jacque Vaughn wants to do, Prince will get the nod to neutralize those elite scorers.
Offensively, Prince has been a double-digit scorer all season, which will in the playoffs. If the Baylor product can shot around 35% from 3 and finish effectively around the rim, it may just be a huge boost to a team that has a tendency to go cold offensively outside of Spencer Dinwiddie.
Garrett Temple
A guy often overlooked for his contributions (especially outside of Brooklyn), Garrett Temple has been in and out of the starting lineup all season. Similar to Taurean Prince, Temple operates primarily as a 3 and D guy as he quickly became of the Nets’ premier defenders this year.
With the amount of injuries Brooklyn has suffered this season, it won’t surprise any fan if the basketball gods threw another ailment at the Nets. If any guard has to miss a serious amount of time, or anyone decides they want to sit out when the NBA starts back up, Temple will be forced to be a contributor on both sides of the ball.
With Irving already expected to miss the rest of this season, and guys like Joe Harris and Caris LeVert being more than vulnerable to injury, Temple may be the difference from the Nets getting swept or a first-round upset.
Garrett Temple has bounced around the league for years and for good reason. No one is saying he is the savior that will push the Nets into title contention.
However, every year there are certain overlooked guys who seem to be the difference between winning and losing, especially during the playoffs. Just look at Fred Vanvleet and Norman Powell for the Raptors last year.
If there is an X-factor for the Nets, fans may need to keep an eye on Temple as that spark.