Nets have options for short-term Lopez injury

In this case though, Brook Lopez has a back sprain while his oft-injured feet seem to be fine for the time being. How bad are back strains? Well it can range from anywhere to a few days to a few months, but it can be something to worry about. Last season, Kevin Garnett appeared in just 54 games in part due to back problems. Albeit KG’s old age and the miles he has on his body after playing int the league for almost 2 decades, Lopez should only have to look at last year with Garnett’s back problems as an example of how serious this injury can be.

That being said, I believe the Nets have two very good internal options to fill Lopez’s absence. The first option, and probably the most popular, is inserting Mirza Teletovic into the starting lineup and sliding Kevin Garnett to center (where he played all of last season without Lopez). The Nets recently started Mirza in place of KG against the Spurs on December 3rd and reaped instant benefits to the tune of 26 points and 15 rebounds, with outstanding floor spacing while showing a constant willingness to drive to the basket. Mirza seems to relish the starting role and can definitely put up the numbers. My only concern was that Lopez also had a great game against the Spurs that night too, so was Mirza’s explosion a product of having the big man on the floor with him as another dynamite scoring option and inside threat? Kevin Garnett, while having a great season in my opinion in terms of rebounding, leadership, and overall basketball IQ, is not the inside threat that Lopez is and therefore will not command the attention that Lopez does. Also, Lopez pounding the ball into the post only opens up Mirza some more on the 3-point line. With all that being true, KG can still pound the ball inside every now and then and is also a much better passer than Lopez is, so starting Mirza and KG side by side could have the potential to work.

The other option is bringing Mason Plumlee off the bench and starting him in place of the injured Lopez while keeping the rest of the starting 4 in place. Plumlee is having a tough going in his sophomore campaign but don’t be fooled, this is a player with more than 1 year of experience playing at a high level (4 years at Duke and this past summer with team USA), and someone who knows what its like to start some games for the Nets (last year when both Lopez and KG were out). When Plumlee started in place for the injured Garnett last season for 22 games, the Nets went 16-6 and didn’t skip a beat. Yes, we played a different style of basketball last season but he stepped up and did his share of the job and the Nets succeeded because of it. This season, putting Plumlee inside will allow the Nets two best players (Deron Williams an Joe Johnson) to really get their shots up and start scoring the basketball. Starting Mirza would leave our bench more thin that it already is, while continuing to hinder Plumlee’s development. I’m in favor of starting Plumlee in place of Lopez while still giving big minutes to Mirza off the bench, giving our three best scorers D-Will, Joe, and Teletovic a real chance to all have opportunities to score the basketball.