According to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News, Reggie Evans might be the odd man out in the rotation when Brooklyn Nets interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo unveils the new twin tower duo of Andray Blatche and Brook Lopez.
The coach of the sliding Nets (34-26) — losers of four of their last five — said that he would experiment with the 14-foot tall frontcourt to provide the Nets more scoring punch. Blatche is happy to oblige: “Brook is a great player. I love playing with him. (When we’re together) it’s tough to defend – so many weapons, so many options. And it definitely gives us length.”
The Nets floor general wouldn’t mind seeing the combination, either. “(The Blatche-Lopez combo) will be good because it hasn’t really happened much this year,” said Deron Williams, adding “I think it’s a good strategy, a look we haven’t tried. The way the things have been going lately it doesn’t hurt to try it.”
Carleismo isn’t likely to alter the starting lineup to make it happen. As Bondy writes, “It’s clear the combination isn’t Carlesimo’s preference given how long he has stuck with Evans, and it’s unlikely this will affect the starting lineup.”
But Evans, already an offensive black hole, has become even more of an offensive liability since the All-Star break, failing to score in the last three games while playing a combined 61 minutes and seeing 56% of his shot attempts blocked in that time. And it isn’t just his lack of production, but his effect on the offense as a hole: “Defenders are sagging off Evans and filling lanes, leaving Brooklyn’s guards with little room to operate.”
In addition to Blatche seeing time at the four, Carlesimo also said that Mirza Teletovic – to the delight of the Twitterverse – would get some more time at power forward. Carlesimo hopes to reduce the rotation from 11 players to 10, with MarShon Brooks and Kirs Humphries as the leading candidates to be left on the bench.
