Who Should Be Brooklyn Nets' Starting Power Forward Next Season?
In a league saturated by sweet-shooting guards, Lionel Hollins is a lone wolf. He's an old-school traditionalist who prefers to run his offense through big men.
Hollins is going to have his work cut out for him in his first year at the helm of the Brooklyn Nets, but he's going to have some fun working with the team's frontcourt.
Brook Lopez, fresh off his third foot surgery in two years, is going to enter this season as the starting center after missing all but 17 games in 2013-14.
The power forward spot, though, appears to be up for grabs.
When asked how he'll balance out veterans and young players in the first five, here's what Hollins told ESPNNewYork.com's Mike Mazzeo:
"It'll be a little bit of both. There's guys that have earned it in this league and somebody has to unseat them to take their job. But there's also guys that are doing good things and have to be on the court. But my starting lineup is not my most pressing concern. It's just trying to get our group playing the way we want them to play. Who starts will develop from practice, preseason and then the coaching staff's decision on how we best fit.
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The Nets have an extremely deep pool of power forwards that includes Mason Plumlee, Kevin Garnett, Andrei Kirilenko and Mirza Teletovic.
All of these guys are going to play key roles in Brooklyn this season. But who deserves to start?
Assessing Kirilenko and Teletovic's Chances
At 33 years old, Kirilenko is not as athletic as he used to be. Though he's as crafty as ever, 12 years in the NBA has physically taken its toll on him.
AK-47 played just 45 games last year as he dealt with back spasms and a nagging ankle injury. He averaged five points and 3.2 rebounds in 19 minutes—all career lows—and was scarcely used throughout the postseason.
Kirilenko is a lanky 6'9" and can defend comfortably at either forward position. He can do a little bit of everything but is no longer the scorer or rebounder he was in his prime. Kirilenko's slyness will keep him in the mix, but he doesn't deserve to start.
Teletovic—for reasons different than Kirielnko's—shouldn't start for Brooklyn, either.
Hollins is not likely to plug a 6'8" three-point shooter into his starting lineup even though Teletovic averaged 14.3 points in seven starts with the Nets a season ago.
The 28-year-old contributed 8.6 points and 3.7 boards per night in 2013-14. He also nullified the notion that foreign shooters can't defend; Teletovic isn't quite a lockdown player, but he can stick with his man.
Teletovic is fit to start in the type of small-ball lineup that Jason Kidd instituted last year. His outside game would space the floor, but Hollins will presumably prefer a bigger, more bruising presence alongside Lopez.
He'll lead Brooklyn's three-point attack and might even see some starting minutes at the 3, but Teletovic won't start at power forward this season.
Can Garnett Reclaim His Territory?
A few years ago, we wouldn't even be having this discussion. The starting power forward on KG's team? Garnett. No question about it.
But times have changed. As he heads into the 20th year of his career, the 38-year-old has finally been caught up to by Father Time.
Last season, Garnett put up career-worst scoring numbers. He managed to give Brooklyn 6.5 points on 44.1 percent from the field, and his 6.6 boards were the lowest since his rookie year.
Prior to New Year's, the veteran was absolutely terrible. He shot 36.4 percent from the field and was taking 1.1 free throws per game. It appeared that KG was done.
Something happened once the calendar flipped to January, though. Despite bouncing in and out of the lineup with back spasms, Garnett knocked down 55.6 percent of his field-goal attempts and gave the Nets 6.6 points on a nightly basis from January through the end of the regular season.
It's painful to say that Garnett shouldn't start. It really is, especially with how he looked in the second half of last season.
But he shouldn't start.
KG is better as a center at this stage of his career anyway and would fit perfectly as the first man off the bench in relief of Lopez.
When KG started at center last year, he knocked down 50.5 percent of his shots. As a forward, he converted at a clip of just 37.4. According to 82games.com, his player efficiency rating increased 5.8 notches when lined up at a center (16.5) as opposed to PF (10.7).
Garnett has certainly lost a step or two. Or three. And as a result, he's no longer a starting-caliber player.
But he's still got the fire, defensive prowess and well-rounded offensive game that will earn him a major role in Brooklyn's 2014-15 campaign.
Plumlee Stands Alone
And then there was one.
Plumlee is the Nets' best option at power forward and should enter the 2014-15 season as the starter.
While Hollins may initially favor the veteran Garnett, Plumlee's immense athleticism and evolving offensive game should win him the job.
Here's what the second-year man out of Duke told Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News on the topic of starting:
"I'm definitely comfortable at power forward. I'm a very good passer; I can see the floor, and I can put the ball on the floor. I don't know what they're looking to do, if they're trying to stay small but what made that work last year was Paul, so I can't imagine we do that again. I think we would play two bigs and how coach Hollins has played traditionally has been that way.
I think so (I can play next to Lopez). He demands so much attention, you kind let him be the focal point scoring wise and then you kind of complement him. So it can be a good two-man tandem. Him and Kevin (Garnett), him and me, me and Kevin, however you want to do it.
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After a breakout rookie year in which he averaged 7.4 points and 4.4 boards on 65.9 percent shooting, Plumlee struggled mightily in the postseason. Throughout the playoffs, the Duke product put up a meager 2.2 points and 2.3 rebounds while shooting 43.8 percent.
Plumlee, who made Team USA's final roster this summer, told Bondy that the reason for the drop in his numbers was that his offensive game was too one-dimensional.
Now that Lopez is back, Plumlee won't be burdened with the pressure to leave his comfort zone. Lopez and Garnett are both capable mid-range shooters while Plumlee is more adept at attacking the rim on a cut or pick-and-roll.
Instead of playing center, a role that was thrust upon him last season after Lopez went out for the year, Plumlee can flourish at his natural forward spot in 2014-15.
In his second year as a pro, he'll look to build off his All-Rookie First Team selection.
Brooklyn isn't going to need Plumlee to score 20 points a night. If he can give the Nets 10 to 12 points and somewhere in the neighborhood of eight rebounds, they'll be set.
Again, Kirilenko and Teletovic will each have huge off-the-bench roles. Garnett will also be extremely important regardless of whether Hollins plays him as a forward or center.
But in the end, Plumlee is Brooklyn's premier power forward. He deserves the starting job and—if provided with the opportunity—will give the team its best chance to win.
All stats are accurate courtesy of Basketball Reference.
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