New Jersey Nets' Brook Lopez: Late-Game Benching an Issue or a Non-Story?

Brook Lopez, the New Jersey Nets' center, was thought to be the team's franchise player, the guy they would build around for years.

When the Nets were discussing possible trade scenarios in an attempt to acquire Carmelo Anthony, Lopez was said to be the only untouchable on the roster.

It was curious, then, to see him sitting on the bench during crunch time against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.

Coach Avery Johnson stated that he was just playing the hot hand, the group of guys who had kept New Jersey in the game and eventually won the game.

That is a valid argument, but is there something more going on here?

Johnson has, to say the least, been displeased with Lopez's play this year. In a film session earlier this week, he repeatedly spoke of "tissue paper" when describing his team's defense.

Lopez said he felt like it was all directed at him.

Now, I will say that coaches are often hardest on the guys they think have the most potential. They see what a guy is capable of, the force he could become, and want to coax it out of him however they can.

Lopez, for his part, has not shied away from the criticism. He's spoken with Johnson about players like David Robinson and Tim Duncan, whom the coach won an NBA Championship with in his playing days, trying to understand what he needs to do to be more like them.

One has to begin to wonder, though, if Johnson believes Lopez can become that type of player; a dominating big man who imposes his will on both sides of the floor.

It has been audible on telecasts. You can hear Johnson screaming at Lopez, trying to get him in the proper defensive position.

In fact, "The Little General" called a timeout before a minute had been played on Tuesday night specifically to yell at Lopez after he had a defensive breakdown.

It's a testament to how bad the coaching has been in New Jersey the past few years that a rookie like Derrick Favors knows more about where to be on defense than Lopez.

It is also disconcerting, though, that guys like Favors, Kris Humphries and Terrence Williams fight for rebounds and get after it on defense with much more ferocity than the center who is supposed to be the cornerstone of the team.

It was thought by many that Lopez, listed at 7'0", would have a shot at a 20-10 season. He could have even led the team in both scoring and rebounding.

Thus far, however, he has yet to have a double-digit rebounding game and has not cracked 20 points in the month of November.

He is not leading in either category. Not what anyone was expecting out of him.

The season is still young, and Lopez is just 22. He has to prove, though, that the promise he showed in his first two seasons was real.

That he was not, as one NBA analyst would say, "a looter in a riot"—a decent player who puts up big numbers on really bad teams.

Again, Johnson could just be being very hard on him based on what he thinks he could be. He has said he just wants Lopez to be tougher, more aggressive, to get mean.

But, if Lopez does not have that inside him, what will the Nets ultimately do with him?

Could he be the one sent packing in favor of Anthony?