Jarrett Allen may not be the Brooklyn Nets’ starting center, but he’s still getting plenty of playing time. In fact, Allen is averaging more minutes per game than the big man who has the starting job ahead of him, DeAndre Jordan. Still, that’s not good enough for former New Jersey Nets big man Derrick Coleman.
“What I’ve seen is: I think we have two talented guys over there. Who’s the kid with the big afro? I love his energy. I love what he brings to the table,” Coleman said on Monday, per NetsDaily. “I don’t know why he’s not starting. And again, I think everybody’s trying to play small ball. Everybody can’t do that. Golden State showed they were really capable of doing that because they had shooters. They had guys that could pick and pop and shoot the ball. I think you need a big guy in there just to be that presence on the defensive end of the floor and to be able to communicate.”
Steve Nash has been asked about the matter of sticking with Jordan as the starting center over Allen before — specifically, is the veteran’s relationship with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving a factor in it all.
“A bit of everything. He definitely has that relationship with Ky and Kevin. He has that experience as the older player. Caris [LeVert] and JA also have good chemistry. So, it’s a bit of everything,” Nash said on a recent Zoom call. “It’s just not something I’m belaboring. Jarrett’s going to play a lot. I love him on the floor. I want to be very careful not to make it like a mini-drama because it’s not.
“They both play. JA has been outstanding and will play plenty, if not the bulk of the minutes, but for right now, he’s just playing those minutes from the second unit. He closed the game against Atlanta [on Wednesday].… I just don’t want it to become some sort of thing where we’re pitting our own guys against each other because I think the group has got a pretty good vibe right now.”
https://embed.sendtonews.com/oembed/?SC=mlpUIpge1T-1094017-7498&autoplay=on&V=2&format=json