Planinic Reminds Nets Why the Bench Is Crucial
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It was a classic good news/bad news game for the Nets. Tuesday night’s 118-116 exhibition win over Boston in overtime provided enough evidence of what’s different with this year’s team to lead to plenty of optimism. Yet two big negatives overshadowed the evening and could be bad omens for what lies ahead.
First the positives. The Nets rallied from a 20-point deficit late in the third quarter to send the game into overtime behind the play of their bench. Note that I used words like “20 points” and “Nets bench” in the same sentence, something that never would have happened a year ago. Marc Jackson, Lamond Murray, and Zoran Planinic combined for 50 points off the pine, with most coming in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Granted, most of these points came against Boston’s reserves, but the Nets’ performance still was an important milestone. Unlike a year ago, New Jersey coach Lawrence Frank can turn to his second unit and be confident that they’ll find a way to put points on the board. That means he won’t be tempted to wear out Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson with extended minutes, and that the Nets won’t be outscored in the second quarter every night. In fact, they won the second quarter against Boston, 28-24.
Planinic, the 6-foot-7-inch guard who missed most of last year with a wrist injury, was particularly lethal. He made his first five shots in the fourth en route to a 15-point quarter and hit six of his seven shots from the floor. Moreover, he committed only one turnover, an area that has plagued him for most of his time in New Jersey. Overall, he finished with 18 points in 18 minutes and showed yet again that the move from point guard to the wing agrees with him.
Jackson, who may begin the year as a starter if Jason Collins’s knee doesn’t come around, was equally superb. He hit the winning shot in overtime and finished with 17 points and nine boards, while the less-heralded Murray contributed 15 with his usual diet of steady shooting. If the Nets can get anywhere near this level of production from the pine in the regular season, they’ll be one of the NBA’s most improved offensive teams. With so many steady shooters on the second unit (including the aforementioned trio as well as Scott Padgett and Jeff McInnis), that seems highly likely.
One name I haven’t mentioned, however, is Antoine Wright. He didn’t play last night, and he probably won’t play much when the season starts either. The Nets’ first-round pick endured a woeful preseason, shooting 30% with more turnovers (10) than field goals (9), and is likely to begin the year on the inactive list. Why the Nets drafted Wright in the first place when the far more accomplished Danny Granger was still on the board remains a mystery, especially when one considers that Granger has already forced his way into the Pacers’ deep, talented rotation with his steady preseason play.
Two other disturbing factoids remove more of the luster from Tuesday’s win. The first is the quad injury suffered by Kidd. The Nets’ star point guard didn’t return after the half, and New Jersey’s play in his absence provided a disturbing reminder of the team’s pathetic start when Kidd was injured a year ago. The Boston starters crushed the Nets 39-20 in the third quarter before inserting the scrubs, setting the stage for the comeback by the Nets’ bench crew.
The Nets are saying it’s a minor injury and Kidd would have returned if it had been the regular season. Let’s hope so. And while we’re at it, let’s hope it’s not the tip of the iceberg for Kidd in terms of injuries. If the 32-year-old guard goes Kevin Johnson on us and starts missing every other game with a thigh bruise, then that Atlantic Division title suddenly doesn’t look like such a guarantee for New Jersey.
The most unsettling information to come out of Tuesday’s game, however, was the rumor that the Nets don’t intend to pick up Planinic’s $1.8 million option for next season. If true, this would be flat-out nonsense. For starters, Planinic has been lights out in the preseason. Yes, the turnovers have been a problem, but everything else has been brilliant. He’s shooting 56% and averaging better than a point every two minutes, while using his size and craftiness to regularly reach the free-throw line.
It’s not like this is new for him, either. Though Planinic rarely played a year ago, he was highly effective when he did, averaging 1.9 steals and 17.6 points on 43% shooting per 40 minutes. Most guys who make $1.8 million can’t provide anywhere near that level of offensive punch (see Mercer, Ron), so it’s puzzling that the Nets consider his salary slot so easily replaceable.
What’s more, the Nets aren’t creating any cap space by declining the option – they’re well over the cap for next season already. Plus, while the Nets are very close to luxury tax territory, they have multiple options available for navigating around it – declining their option on the less talented Padgett next year, for instance, or trading a player like Wright for a future draft pick.
For this year, at least, Planinic is a Net, and that’s a good thing. With Wright shaping up as a bust and the veteran Murray limited mostly to long jumpers, Planinic could turn out to be New Jersey’s primary reserve on the wings. Considering Vince Carter’s history of leg problems, that could even turn into a starting gig at some point, and Planinic’s scoring punch would come in handy in that role.
Thus, despite some of the other negatives, the main takeaway from Tuesday’s win is that for the first time since they went to the Finals, the Nets have a bench. All 12 players on the opening day roster are potential contributors (including newly signed jumping jack Linton Johnson), which is a far cry from the Mercers, Rodney Bufords, and Jabari Smiths who polluted the lineup a year ago. One hopes the Nets can see that too – and understand that Planinic is one of the reasons.
Mr. Hollinger is the author of the 2005-06 Pro Basketball Forecast.