#30-#21: Good Job, Good Effort
30. Billy King.
I think you could have made a case at the beginning of this year that had things worked out great for the Nets, Billy King could have been considered one of the frontrunners for this season’s Executive of the Year award.
Rumor has it Mikhail Prokhorov has offered him the Good Sport Executive of the Year Award, which is presented in the deepest, darkest cave in Siberia. -D.S. (Previous: 5)
29. Reggie Evans.
I can’t help but feel that Reggie Evans should play more when last year’s second-best rebounding team has plummeted to 23rd in that category. But that would require an offense that could run with four people, and the Nets can’t even do that with 5. Another conundrum for proven genius Jason Kidd! -D.S. (Previous: 25)
28. Tornike Shengelia.
With Paul Pierce and Andrei Kirilenko sidelined with various ailments, the Tokomotive has won a rotation spot mostly by default. While that doesn’t necessarily mean much, it’s worth noting that he’s one of the few players exerting relentless energy on the floor in this mess. Plus he’s on Twitter now, and already shows some happiness potential there too:
Hello! :)) #1 #tweet
— Tornike Shengelia (@TokoShengelia23) November 8, 2013
Good ol’ Toko. Cut down those turnovers and we could have something. -D.K. (Previous: 34)
27. Beno Udrih.
Beno Udrih has been essentially the nonfactor most expected him to be. He has, however, had some hidden value in being a foil to Knicks fans on Twitter who want Pablo Prigioni to get more of his minutes. -D.S. (Previous: 27)
26. Jason Terry.
I never thought I’d sorely miss the shooting of 36-year-old Jason Terry off the bench until I saw the 2013-2014 Brooklyn Nets play without 36-year-old Jason Terry off the bench. Shooting was supposed to be a strength of this team, and it’s not. Terry’s injury is a big part of that. When Joe Johnson is off the floor, Alan Anderson becomes the team’s best shooter. He’s not that good at shooting. -D.S. (Previous: 29)
25. Mirza Teletovic.
On November 26th, Teletovic said in an interview with The Brooklyn Game that he wasn’t sure if he had a role in Brooklyn with the Nets. Since that time, coach Jason Kidd gave Teletovic a shot, and he’s delivered, hitting threes at the best rate of his career and floating semi-effectively between small forward and power forward.
Money Mirza AKA Fearza looks like he’s finally carving his American niche. Only time will tell whether or not Teletovic will stick in the Nets rotation, but his arc’s on the upswing right now. -D.K. (Previous: 32)
24. Tyshawn Taylor.
Won the starting role by default once Kidd realized he was stretching Shaun Livingston too far. Taylor’s a decent one-man response to the flurry of highly athletic players the otherwise plodding Nets have to face, but he becomes a liability once he realizes that and tries to do too much. Still, with Shaun Livingston not ready to take on the rigors of a starting role, they’d be smart to keep him in the lineup until Deron Williams is fully healthy. Still the team’s leader in tweets per 36 minutes. -D.K. (Previous: 28)
Dag nabit
— tyshawn taylor (@tyshawntaylor) December 1, 2013
23. Andrei Kirilenko.
Before the season, I said that Andrei Kirilenko would do at least one thing during each game that no other player could do. Who knew that would be “sporting a shaggy haircut in a suit” every time? -D.K. (Previous: 15)
22. J.R. Smith.
A brief collection of tweets about J.R. Smith from Knicks fans:
I’m not sure what JR Smith would have to do to get benched at this point.
— netw3rk (@netw3rk) December 2, 2013
Ol JR, working on his Death Hummer again.
— Jim Cavan (@JPCavan) November 21, 2013
Mike Woodson strategy: Whichever guard is playing well, pull and replace with JR Smith.
— netw3rk (@netw3rk) November 30, 2013
I’m over here screaming “YES JR SHOOT A TERRIBLE TURNAROUND J YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO” because I am deeply broken
— Seth Rosenthal (@seth_rosenthal) November 30, 2013
The Knicks are going to lose because Woody won’t take JR out./ dies
— Robert Silverman (@BobSaietta) December 2, 2013
“How long do you let him keep playing if he’s not defending well and he’s not hitting shots?” – Breen, echoing all Knicks fans, re: JR.
— Jared Dubin (@JADubin5) November 30, 2013
In 11 games, J.R. Smith has shot 33.1 percent from the field and 29.6 percent from three-point range. He is currently tied with Andrea Bargnani for second on the team in field goal attempts per 36 minutes. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: never change, J.R. -D.K. (Previous: 19)
21. Mikhail Prokhorov.
Could not be reached for comment as he feverishly updated his Match.com profile. -D.K. (Previous: 10)
