Brook Lopez has kind-of, sort-of known Jeremy Lin since they were in high school; but they’ve never been teammates, and certainly never perfected running the pick-and-roll together.
They had better do it quick. If the Nets are going to improve on last year’s 21-61 mark, they only will go as far as Brook-Lin can take them.
“It’s like your quarterback and your star running back, or your star receiver getting on the same page,” said Nets coach Kenny Atkinson. “The pick-and-roll is like you’ve got to get that running game established, and you’ve got to throw it to that big (man) rolling.
“You’d better have some spacing and shooting around that; otherwise, people are going to crowd the paint. … But it does start with those two guys.”
The Nets are trying to build cohesion with a new coaching staff and 15 new faces in camp. No relationship will be more vital than that between the star center and the new floor general.
“He’s just talented. He’s just good,’’ Lin said. “There’s no way that he can’t score. Jumpshots, outside, dunking on you, jump-hooks, off-foot, right hand, left hand, fadeaway, back-to-the-basket, faceup, pick-and-pop, pick-and-roll, every which way. He has it all. He’s going to make my life a lot easier.”
The Nets’ star center was fourth in the NBA last season in points scored as the roll man in pick-and-rolls (315). But he was not as efficient as he was prolific, just 95th in shooting percentage (.491) and 109th in points-per-possession (0.99). They hope Lin can help both.
“Absolutely. When he’s coming downhill off the pick-and-roll, he’s so dangerous. He’s a great decision-maker. He makes quick decisions, he usually makes the right decision. That’ll help make myself and the rest of the team more efficient,’’ Lopez said.
“Coming off the pick-and-roll, Jeremy will know what to do, what options he has, where people will be. He’ll know that blindfolded. If I receive the ball on the roll — or if I pop — I’ll know where people will be, what’s around me, how to read the defensive situation to get the best possible opportunity and option for us.”
Lopez — who still remembered running into Lin at “an IHOP or Denny’s” during the California state basketball tourney — praised the Harvard grad’s “basketball IQ,” while Lin gushed over how easy the Stanford big man made his job.
“It’s been through trial and error on the floor … making mistakes and figuring out what we both like,’’ Lopez said. “And then talking off the court as well, communicating. It’s something we’ve harped on as a team, how important it is.”
An example of that trial and error came earlier this week in practice, when Lopez and Lin misplayed an end-of-clock drill. But rather than just blithely move on, they stopped, discussed it and put their minds to getting it right.
“That’s what’s fun about this job; watching that relationship grow,’’ Atkinson said. “I can already see them, ‘Hey, next time we’ll do this. We didn’t do it right this time.’ And that’s the best, when you don’t even have to coach it. You get two smart players, they’re going to figure it out. We’ll give them the schemes, and it’s them getting on the same page. I can see that’s starting to happen already.
“We had a situation the other day in practice where it was an end-of-clock situation and it didn’t go right. It didn’t work and they talked about it. If they would’ve gone their separate ways it would’ve been disappointing. But it’s a big (deal), like your quarterback and star running back or star receiver getting on the same page … They said ‘We’ll get it. We messed that one up but we’ll get on the same page.'”
If they do that — and when — will go a long way toward defining this season.
“First thing is for everybody else around him to learn what’s best for (Lopez). He’s our guy, and we’ve got to make him happy,’’ forward Luis Scola said. “He’s not the one who needs to drop anything. We have to go around him and figure out what’s best for him: (If) he likes us to pop, he likes us to roll, to spot-up from 3, cut, move, what is it he likes the most.
“All those things are going to make us more effective, going to help us win more games. They’re going to put whoever does those things on the court more often, which is what players want, and everything’s going to be better off. If he’s happy, if he’s playing well, our chances to win grow immensely, so this is what we’ve got to achieve … He’s the best player on the team and he’s our franchise guy.”