The Growth of Bojan Bogdanovic
With the 2015 NBA draft quickly approaching, let’s take a closer look at the 31st pick of the 2011 draft. Bojan Bogdanovic was chosen by the Miami Heat with the 31st pick and was then dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves then traded Bogdanovic to the Nets who, coming out of the draft, was known as a sharp shooter in Europe. Teams knew that he needed further time to develop in Europe and would not be coming over to the NBA for a few years. When he came over this past season for his rookie campaign there was a lot of pressure put on him right away. He was expected to fill the void for the Nets left by Paul Pierce (who signed with the Washington Wizards last year). Since Bogdanovic had so much success while playing pro ball in Europe — and for the Croatian national team — the Nets thought he would have a good impact right away. But Bogdanovic hit several low points at the beginning of this past season, which gave the impression that he wasn’t ready for the NBA at all. As the season progressed, he showed the Nets organization and its fans that although it could take a little while to adjust, he could be the player here that he was in Europe.
Right away, Bogdanovic was inserted into Brooklyn’s starting lineup. He was given the opportunity to prove that he could fulfill Pierce’s old role and become a heavy contributor. Bogdonavic had his highs and lows at the beginning of the year. He had multiple double-digit point games and showed the team that he could be a go-to shooter if need be. While he was a decent shooter, it seemed that was the only thing he was capable of doing productively. He wasn’t getting into lanes to score the ball. He didn’t display his ability to create and knock down his own shot either. He appeared to be lost on the defensive end at times as well, which made him a liability on the floor when he wasn’t knocking down shots. The fact that he was putting up favorable scoring numbers forced the team to ignore the other areas of his game that were lacking. Then came mid-season when Bojan started to struggle mightily from the field and ultimately hit rock bottom.
Lionel Hollins was forced to not only take him out of the starting lineup, but bench him entirely. Bogdonavic’s name was taken out of the rotation and only played garbage minutes. He expressed to reporters during this time how hard it was for him to be on the bench and not out on the floor. This was new for a player who was a star during his time in Europe and always had the ball in his hands. When he would get into the game during this time it seemed that he was lost because he didn’t understand or know his role anymore. Sergey Karasev replaced him as a starter, and it appeared that he was an afterthought for the coaching staff. While this was tough on Bogdanovic, it helped him immensely in the long run when he received another opportunity to show what he could provide to the team.
Toward the end of the season, Bogdonavic’s time on the bench appeared to only do more good than harm. Once Karasev was taken out of the rotation and suffered a season ending injury, Bogdanovic stepped in and provided a spark that the Nets would need to get into the playoffs. He shot the ball much better in this latter half of the season than he did in the beginning. He was able to spread defenses out for the other four players on the floor with him. He got to the basket to create his own shots and also improved his awareness on the defensive end. He was able to draw more fouls and force the defense to come out to him more on his jump shot in order to stop his penetration. He was creating turnovers with both steals and some charges that only helped bolster the Nets energy on the floor. Bogdanovic topped his end to the regular season with a 28-point performance against the Magic to get the Nets into the playoffs. Here, he showed just how good of a go-to scorer he could be. He ended up increasing his minutes per game from 23.8 in the regular season to 34.3 in the playoffs because of how good he played at the end of the season. Even though the Nets came up short against the Atlanta Hawks, Bogdanovic still hit big shots during the series to allow the team to force a Game 6. Without his production at the end of the season, there is no way the Nets would have made it to the playoffs. His willingness to get better throughout the season and adjust to the NBA’s game not only helped him at the end of the season, but will allow him to progress much further as his career with the Nets continues.
Bogdanovic’s impact on the team was felt throughout the season. Whenever he struggled, the team struggled as well. When he produced, the team was able to play better. He grew into a player that could be counted on in many high pressure games and situations that enabled the team to succeed. Now the main thing for him is to build off of his production at the end of the year. Next season the Nets are going to need him to be a consistent scorer. There is no telling how this team will look at the beginning of next season with all the rumors surrounding many of their big players. Bogdanovic is probably going to have to carry a heavier load for this team to be relevant next season. This is something he’s already showed he could do and it is in his nature to be a big time scorer because of his success in Europe. I think most of his growth throughout last season was about adjusting to the NBA. There is a different speed and competitiveness to the game that is not shown in Europe. The players are more talented and athletic here, which is something that any player is going to have to adjust to on both sides of the ball. Bogdanovic proved his ability to do just that. The Nets organization and its fans should be excited from what they saw from him at the end of the year and should expect good production from him going into next season.