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Since moving from New Jersey to Brooklyn, the Nets have been the most overpaid and underachieving team in all of sports. While they have not missed a playoff berth since moving out of Newark three years ago, they have not been the real title contenders that they aspire to be. They had big hopes that by putting together their own Big 3 they would be able to compete with the league’s best each year, but it has never come to fruition. There have been many factors to why this has yet to happen (injuries, player deterioration, constant coaching changes, lack of cap space), but the truth is that the Nets are not what they were meant to be. The Nets now find themselves with a tough off-season ahead and many question marks throughout the roster, the most important being: Is Center Brook Lopez a franchise player?
When looking at his stat line from the 2014-2015 regular season, 17.9 ppg/7.4 rpg/1.8 bpg, one can say that he is just an average center. His scoring and blocks are okay and only seven rebounds a game is barely starter worthy. But one stat that stands out is that he only played 29.2 minutes per game, the second lowest total of his career, due to nursing an injury earlier in the season. He played in 72 games and only started 44 of them because he was willing to come off the bench. So all things considered, his short minute’s average and willingness to come off the bench show that he could be more productive and is willing to put the team first, which are good qualities for a star player. Lopez’s true value wasn’t seen until the playoffs came around.
Through comparing his stat line from the post season to the regular season, it is easy to see why the Nets are struggling to figure out whether or not to make Lopez the face of their franchise. He averaged 39 (+9.8) minutes a game and raised all of his major stat averages, 19.8 ppg (+1.8)/9.0 rpg (+1.6)/2.0 bpg (+0.2). When seeing what he can do while playing starter minutes it is clear that he belongs in the category as one of the league’s premier players. He is able to score at a high level, protect the rim and pull down enough rebounds to positively affect the game on both ends of the floor. His stat line doesn’t tell the only story though. When watching Lopez play there is a noticeable difference in the player he is now than the player he was to start his career.
When Lopez came onto the league he was a scoring player that could do little to nothing else besides score in the most unorthodox ways possible. Since coming into the league he has expanded his scoring game and became a rim protector capable of throwing back and changing shots without picking up fouls. His only knock had been his unwillingness to rebound on both ends, but this year he changed all of that. While his stat line may not reflect a huge change, his aggression when attacking the boards is noticeable. If he isn’t picking up the rebound he is aggressive enough to allow one of his other teammates to fly in and grab it. He used to be a player who was an easy box out, which is ridiculous being 7’0 and 250lbs, but since he has begun throwing his weight around that is not the case anymore. He will never be the rebounder Dwight Howard is, but the effort he has given over this season is enough to make him an elite player on both ends of the floor.
The lone question that remains is whether or not Lopez is durable enough to be trusted to stay on the floor and lead the team. When he is on the floor he is a silent leader who leads by example and not with words. He does all the little things right that can make him the type of player that you want to build around, but his injuries over the past 4 seasons are enough to give any team pause before handing him the keys to the franchise. The Nets may be especially sensitive given that this just happened to them when they made Deron Williams their franchise player. After 3 injury ridden and disappointing seasons later, Williams has become the player the franchise and fan base can’t wait to get rid of. So if Brook Lopez can remain healthy, then the answer is: Yes he is a franchise player. But it is a big if, and an even bigger gamble on whether or not he can stay healthy. Right now if you’re the Nets you really don’t have much more to go on, so Lopez may have to be it for now.
Sources:
http://espn.go.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/3448/brook-lopez
http://espn.go.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/3448/seasontype/3/brook-lopez