Against the Detroit Pistons, who were determined to be in disorganized early, this time the Brooklyn Nets did not drop the chain again, and although the star Kevin Durant was ousted, James Harden's form picked up, and the role players also provided enough support, and the Nets, who scored in double figures, easily won a victory and successfully defended their home court.
Probably because of the weaker opponents, the Nets have always been comfortable in this game, head coach Nash has sent a total of 12 players, and except for rookie Cameron Thomas, other players have scored. Although the veteran LaMarcus Aldridge still appeared as a substitute, he also continued his efficient performance so far this season, shooting 7 of 8 in 21 minutes, cutting 16 points and 3 rebounds, with a plus-minus of +13 on the court, the highest of all the bench players.
Knowing Aldridge's return and playing well is very important for the Nets, because since Jordan Jr.'s departure, the question of who the Nets should use as a starting center has caused a lot of discussion. The only serious center on the team is young man Nicholas Clarkston, who is physically strong, and although he has little ability to score on his own, he is very good at eating cakes, while his defensive and rebounding protection ability is quite reliable. If the focus is on cultivating Nicholas Clarkston, he has a chance to become a weakened version of Clint Capela, especially around Harden, who is not worried about not being able to brush up on good data. The problem is that the Nets are now going all out to attack the championship, and there is no time to slowly cultivate Clarkston, who can occasionally be a surprise as a substitute, which is already the limit.
Griffin completed a contract extension with the Nets this summer, and this season he has been a starter and has spent most of the time as a small-ball center. However, the risk of having Griffin as the fifth position is very large, if you are still on the bench as before, anyway, the opponent's offensive firepower is relatively limited, then Griffin does not have to be afraid of being targeted. But now that he is in the starting lineup, Griffin, even at his peak, is a typical offensive and defensive weak player, and it is simply impossible to expect him to form the last barrier in the basket.
Another All-Star power forward, Paul Millsap, was a defensive fighter at his peak, and the problem is that his current decline in form is very obvious, and Millsap, who has entered the twilight of his career, is more likely to mix championship rings, and it is not too likely to expect him to play an important role. You must know that Millsap, as a big forward, is actually at a disadvantage in height, and when he was young, he could still rely on confrontation and mobility to compete with other interior lines, and now Millsap is really incompetent.
In this case, the net's big player, on the road to the championship, may be the most trustworthy lamarcus Aldridge. And as we all know, last season because of heart problems, Aldridge was forced to retire shortly after joining the Nets, which is also a pity. But at any time life is above all else, so at that time everyone was blessing Aldridge, taking a step back and saying that if the Nets had not suffered any injuries last season, and all the players had attacked in the case of a neat lineup, I am afraid that there would be no suspense in the championship competition.
After retiring, Aldridge is also not willing to be lonely, he has always maintained a good physical condition, obviously he has not given up on continuing to pursue his basketball dream. So after finding out that his health had improved, Aldridge announced his official comeback, and after passing a series of professional medical examinations arranged by the league, Aldridge also officially returned to the NBA to play. At his peak, Aldridge was an All-Star player, and both personal honors and big contracts had already been won. The biggest driving force behind his dream of continuing to be a professional player is to get a championship ring before officially retiring. So last season, after reaching a buyout agreement with the Spurs, Aldridge chose to join the Nets, and in the case of announcing his comeback, he also became a member of the Nets again as everyone expected.
Technically, Aldridge in a healthy state is very suitable for the Nets system. On the offensive end, unlike Clarkston and Griffin, who can only eat under the basket, he has a fairly accurate shot, in addition, Aldridge's back-play ability at his peak is the top of the league, a bit weakening the meaning of Nowitzki, although he is older and has health risks, but there is still some residual heat. On the defensive end, due to the slow pace, Aldridge is indeed not good at assisting in the sweep, but his one-on-one single defense and basket protection ability is still trustworthy. So Aldridge can provide support on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, and if there is no follow-up reinforcement, perhaps Nets coach Steve Nash should consider letting Aldridge play the team's starting fifth position, that is, the center position.