Depleted numbers presents Nets’ bench with major opportunities

With the Nets down seven players, Brooklyn will need help from some who had limited opportunities before the NBA’s hiatus.

No team is experiencing what the Brooklyn Nets are heading into the NBA’s restart at Disney World. To not have Kevin Durant (right Achilles) and Kyrie Irving (right shoulder) is one thing, but then take away the team’s 2019-20 leading scorer (Spencer Dinwiddie) and four more players? It’s truly unbelievable.

But, as much as things will be challenging for the Nets in the short term — particularly for Jacque Vaughn as he tries to earn the full-time head coaching gig — this also presents players with opportunity.

Of course, more will be expected of Jarrett Allen — regardless of whether or not the team gets another big — Joe Harris, Garrett Temple and, especially, Caris LeVert.

After those four, the only other Net heading down to Disney that received regular minutes before the hiatus was Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot. Even then, he only averaged 17.2 minutes a night throughout the 39 games in which he played.

Tyler Johnson is walking into a situation where he will likely be asked to do far more than he’s used to.

Then there’s Chris Chiozza, Rodions Kurucs, Dzanan Musa, who all have something to prove going into this.

“I think this is important for me, and it’s a chance for me to continue to prove myself,” Chris Chiozza recently told reporters on a Zoom call, per Christian Winfield of the New York Daily News. “Being a free agent coming up, hopefully prove myself enough to stay here or see what happens in the offseason.”

The same goes for Justin Anderson, Jeremiah Martin and whoever Brooklyn can sign as replacement players.

This is the time for those who had smaller roles on the Nets in 2019-20. They’re not expected to go win a title. Outlasting the Washington Wizards — who are down Bradley Beal and Davis Bertans — needs to be the goal.

And for guys like Chiozza, Musa, Kurucs and even Luwawu-Cabarrot, there won’t be a better opportunity to prove they belong in Brooklyn when Durant and Irving return — which is when the real fun begins.

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