Brooklyn Nets: Grading Each Players’ Performance in 2012-13
By Pete Schauer
After making the move to Brooklyn from New Jersey, the Brooklyn Nets are returning to the playoffs this season for the first time since the 2006-07 season, owning a 44-32 record and are the current fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Brooklyn’s offseason moves—highlighted by the re-signing of point guard Deron Williams and trade acquisition of shooting guard Joe Johnson—are well-documented, but how did this Brooklyn squad fare in its first season together?
Check out my grades for the entire Brooklyn Nets team this season.
Note: A player had to appear in at least 15 games to qualify.
Deron Williams: B+
If this were a month or two ago, Deron Williams would likely be looking at a C+ or B-, but Deron Williams has really stepped it up of late. After averaging 16.9 points and 6.4 assists per game during the month of January, D-Will seems to have gotten healthier and regained the bounce in his step, because he posted 21.9 points and 7.7 assists per game during March.
So far in April, we’ve already seen games of 24, 30 and 32 points from Williams, including a double-double against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday, April 4.
Currently, Williams is posting the best 3-point percentage of his career since the 2007-08 season with the Utah Jazz, coming in at a .378 mark this season. For the year as a whole, D-Will is giving Brooklyn 18.7 points and 7.7 assists per game and is turning it over less than three times per game.
Williams is the second-leading scorer for Brooklyn and has been crucial to the Nets’ return to the postseason.
Joe Johnson: B-
To be quite honest, I think I’m being generous with the grade I gave for Joe Johnson, but I still have all of those game winners stuck in my head.
There’s no doubting that Johnson has been clutch at times for the Nets this season, but he’s also been largely inconsistent, going from an average of 18 points per game and 41 percent from 3-point territory in February to just 13 points per contest and an ugly 32 percent 3-point shooting mark in March.
It’s fair to say that injuries have been affecting his play of late, as Johnson missed strings of games in late March and April due to injuries ranging from his quad to his heel, but it’s certainly been a disappointing finish to the season for Johnson.
He’s still averaging better than 16 points per game, but Nets fans were hoping for better shooting percentages and more consistent performances from the Johnson we all know.
Gerald Wallace has been a disappointment for the Brooklyn Nets this season. (Photo Credit: Mark Runyon,
)
Gerald Wallace: C+
To say Gerald Wallace has been a disappointment this season would be an understatement.
Wallace is averaging a mere eight points a game for Brooklyn to go with just 4.8 rebounds per game and an abysmal 29 percent from 3-point territory.
It’s safe to say that the 30-year-old small forward isn’t living up to the $9 million he’s being paid this season, am I right Brooklyn fans?
He’s a decent defender and a scrappy player but Wallace isn’t worth the millions the Nets are paying him.
Reggie Evans: B
Just the other day I dubbed Reggie Evans the ultimate x-factor for Brooklyn this season and I’m absolutely sticking by that statement.
We all know Evans isn’t out there to light up the scoreboard for the Nets. What he is out there to do is dominate the boards and play solid defense, which he’s certainly done this season.
The 6’8” power forward owns the NBA’s best rebounds per 48 minutes mark, coming in at an impressive 21.3.
No one really expected the down season from Kris Humphries, but the play of Evans definitely made up for it.
Brook Lopez: A
The 2012-13 campaign has been a coming out party for Brook Lopez, as he’s the leading scorer for Brooklyn with 19.2 points per game to go with a career-high 52 percent field-goal percentage.
According to ESPN, the seven-foot center owns the best player efficiency rating on the Nets, sporting a 24.6 mark. Lopez has been excellent on the defensive side as well, blocking 2.07 shots per game, which ranks seventh in the NBA.
Lopez has been above and beyond the best and most consistent player for Brooklyn this season, which is why he gets the best grade for the Nets.
Andray Blatche has been a pleasant surprise for the Brooklyn Nets following a rough career with the Washington Wizards. (Photo Credit: Mark Runyon,
)
Andray Blatche: B
Besides Reggie Evans, Andray Blatche is the biggest surprise for the Nets this season in my mind.
After his relationship went sour with the Washington Wizards, Blatche came to Brooklyn looking for a fresh start and he’s done just that, averaging 10.3 points and five rebounds per game and owning the second-best player efficiency rating on the team.
With his contract up following this season, Nets fans should be hoping Blatche is re-signed for the future.
MarShon Brooks: C
After a stellar rookie campaign that saw him average 12.6 points and play more than 29 minutes a game, Brooks saw his role cut in half, receiving just more than 12 minutes per game and averaging just five points per game.
Brooks’ field-goal percentage is up from last season, but that’s most likely attributed to a lack of attempts. He has all the tools to be a starting shooting guard in the NBA, but with Joe Johnson ahead of him on the depth chart, a starting role is out of the question for a few years for the 24-year-old.
C.J. Watson: B
C.J. Watson came over from the Chicago Bulls and has done exactly what Brooklyn has asked of him: knock down 3s.
Watson is shooting it better than 41 percent from 3-point range this season while averaging 6.8 points per game.
Time after time, Watson has hit big shots for Brooklyn in crucial moments and will be a big key to the Nets’ postseason run.
Keith Bogans: C
Keith Bogans gets nearly 19 minutes a game, but I’d like to see him do more with them.
He’s been decent for Brooklyn, but Bogans is shooting just 35 percent from downtown and is averaging just more than four points per game. Bogans isn’t anything more than a role player for Brooklyn, which he does pretty well in, but it’s nothing impressive.
Kris Humphries saw his role immensely shrink this season. (Photo by Braxton/Flickr.com)
Kris Humphries: C-
There was a time when Kris Humphries wasn’t even included in P.J. Carlesimo’s rotation, as Humphries isn’t playing anything like what we saw last season, when he averaged 13 points and 11 rebounds per game.
This year, Humphries is attributing just five points and five rebounds per contest for Brooklyn and that’s not cutting it. His field-goal percentage is down and Humphries doesn’t look to have anywhere near the amount of interest and intensity that he did last year.
If it weren’t for Reggie Evans, the Nets would be in some serious trouble on the glass this season.
Jerry Stackhouse: C-
With so many players ahead of him on the depth chart, Jerry Stackhouse hasn’t had much of an opportunity to showcase his 38-year-old talent this season.
While his 4.7 points per game mark isn’t all that bad, the fact that he’s shooting 38 percent from the field and just 32 percent from 3-point range certainly is.
The NBA will certainly miss the 17-year veteran, as Stackhouse will likely retire following the 2012-13 season (per CBS Sports’ Matt Moore), but he didn’t make much of an impact for Brooklyn this season.
Mirza Teletovic: D
Mirza Teletovic has the talent—he’s a 6’9” power forward who can step outside and knock down the 3—but his shooting percentages from the field and aggressiveness on the boards need to increase before he sees his role expand.
Behind Reggie Evans, there’s some room for playing time for Teletovic with Kris Humphries sharing the load, but with just about nine minutes per game, Teletovic needs to show me a lot more before I make my final ruling on him.
Tyshawn Taylor: D
Rookie point guard Tyshawn Taylor has appeared in 34 games for Brooklyn this season, but is averaging just five minutes per game and has bounced back and forth between the Nets and the developmental league.
The New Jersey native scored a career-high 12 points in an 89-84 win over the Indiana Pacers on Feb. 11, but Taylor is still too young inconsistent to receive a legitimate amount of playing time at the NBA level.
Tornike Shengelia: D-
Because the Nets are so deep at small forward, Shengelia hasn’t gotten much of an opportunity to play, as he’s logged just 67 minutes of play in 18 games this season.
When he has entered the game, Shengelia is primarily just another body on the floor for defense for Brooklyn. He hasn’t scored more than six points in a single game and totals just 19 points on the season.
His low statistics aren’t necessarily his fault, but nonetheless, those numbers don’t merit even an average grade.
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