Height: 6’6″
Weight: 220 lbs.
Date of Birth: October 16, 1982
Years Pro: 5
Before NBA: Michigan State University
Drafted: Undrafted
Nickname: A-Squared, Double-A
– Full Stats –
Alan Anderson was one of Brooklyn’s biggest mysteries last year, the kind of hot and cold player that perfectly represented the Nets’ tumultuous season.
He filled the final Nets roster spot last offseason, soon transformed into a viable option as a 3 and D off the bench, and ultimately culminated in Anderson starting in Games 6 and 7 in the team’s first-round matchup against Toronto, a switch that may have saved the season.
This summer, he returned to the Nets on a two-year contract worth $2.6 million, and may end up being Brooklyn’s incumbent starting small forward if he recovers from an abdominal muscle strain.
Anderson won’t dazzle, but has a funny way of sticking around against all odds. In fact, his career averages of 8.1 points per game, 2.2 rebounds per game, and 1.2 assists per game have taken him halfway around the world, to Italy, Russia, Croatia, China, Spain, and Israel, plus a brief stint in the D-League upon returning to America.
Isn’t every team supposed to have a cagey professional, an unflinching fouler and connoisseur of the three? Didn’t James Posey teach us anything?
Anderson was a small piece of the puzzle; his usage rate of 14.5% for Brooklyn in 2013-2014 ranked him at 256th in the entire NBA, just ahead of Andrei Kirilenko, Martell Webster, Kyle Korver and Andre Iguodala. Of course; different systems mean different game plans – ie, with Curry and Thompson ranking at 28.2 and 20.9, there just aren’t a ton of plays run for Iguodala—but the fact remains that Anderson was more often than not a last option on offense on the floor. That’s part of what makes him dangerous; he’s no Kyle Korver, but he’ll make a defense pay for leaving him. Double team on Lopez? Anderson will hit the corner three. Did the defense collapse on a penetrating Deron Williams? Anderson makes the cut to the basket.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I5Rk7fHX28&w=560&h=315]
In an odd way, you know exactly what you’re going to get from Alan Anderson: a mixed bag full of highs and lows, everything you’ve never needed and everything you didn’t know you needed. He’s old reliable the unreliable. There are few things more frustrating than a possession wasted by his isolated contested jumper, but few things are sweeter than his back-to-back corner threes.
Anderson is duct tape: the old, gritty, classic silver kind. Need a ball handler in a pinch? Anderson. Need someone to check LeBron James? Anderson. Need someone to display an irrational range of confidence? Alan Anderson, at your service. Need someone to do a sketch, comfortably imitating a newscaster while still being 6’6″? You got it.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AyKBjg74Bc&w=560&h=315]
Unless Bojan Bogdanovic is ready to start, expect to see Anderson in heavy doses. With plenty of scorers in the starting lineup, Anderson’s defensive acumen is well-suited for the defensive-minded Lionel Hollins. Anderson will be asked to do a little bit of everything this season, and he’ll answer the call.
