Overall, the Brooklyn Nets have a numbers problem heading into the Disney World bubble.
Kevin Durant (right Achilles), Kyrie Irving (right shoulder), Nic Claxton (left shoulder), Wilson Chandler (elected to opt-out) and DeAndre Jordan (elected to opt-out after testing positive for COVID-19) are all out for the remainder of 2019-20. Spencer Dinwiddie could become the sixth Net to opt-out, but it appears he hopes to play once he recovers from COVID-19.
If Dinwiddie can’t play, that creates another issue, given he was the team’s top scorer this season. On top of that potential problem, to go with the lack of numbers, Brooklyn lacks size heading into the NBA restart.
All that’s left at the five is Jarrett Allen.
Following the long layoff, all teams will have to be smart with minute allocation. So going into the bubble with only one big doesn’t seem feasible. Which is why Jacque Vaughn and Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks have discussed finding a replacement big, as the Nets head coach told reporters on a Zoom call Saturday, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post:
We have to definitely think about that. Sean and I talked this morning on a call and we talked about addressing our size and not putting extra demand on Jarrett. So that could definitely be a route we take for sure.
The Nets could also try to play small ball when Allen isn’t on the floor. Though that’s not something they did often, if at all, before the league’s hiatus. Still, it’s an option Vaughn has considered.
It definitely will be a little bit of a stress test for us. Whether that’s the amount of minutes that we play Jarrett Allen at five, whether it’s being creative at the backup position, it changes rotations.
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