ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Some pundits have proclaimed Brooklyn’s centers the worst bunch in the NBA. But as the Nets wrapped up training camp at the U.S. Naval Academy, the centers had been one of coach Kenny Atkinson’s most pleasant surprises.
Salary dump Timofey Mozgov, spindly teenaged rookie Jarrett Allen and minimum salaried Celtics castoff Tyler Zeller may not be a stellar trio, but the Nets are certainly hoping they can be a serviceable one.
“I was surprised, especially with Timmy — he hasn’t had a lot of time with us. He hasn’t had a lot of reps [because of EuroBasket 2017],” Atkinson said. “He’s going to be a good screener for us, I can see that … he’s going to play a big role. Not bad. He runs the floor, we got him on that pass — we like that pass over the top. He scored a couple of times on the block. So good debut for him.”
In the camp-ending scrimmage, Mozgov threw his 275 pounds around and swallowed up rebound after rebound. He also set a crunching screen to free up Jeremy Lin for the winning 3-pointer in overtime.
And though he’s the nominal starter, Atkinson admits he’s surprised at how close Allen is to contributing and how quickly Zeller is fitting in.
After Zeller played every single game for Boston in 2014-15 and averaged career-highs of 10.2 points and 5.7 rebounds in 21.1 minutes, he saw his playing time slashed to 11.8 minutes and finally 10.3 last year. It begs the question of why?
“If you find an answer to that one, let me know. I��m still trying to figure it out,” Zeller said. “I don’t know, I really don’t. It was one of those things I was trying to figure out all year. They had a great year, so I can’t say they made the wrong decision. But at the same time, I wish I was a part of it. I felt like I could’ve contributed more.”
Zeller will get that chance on a young Nets team with just three players over 6-foot-9. He’ll bring 18 games of postseason experience to a frontcourt that includes Allen, who doesn’t even have a single game of pro experience.
“[Kenny Atkinson] wants me to extend that range and shoot that corner 3, but at the same time set good screens, rebound, do some of the dirty work, run the floor and push the pace and try to be a leader for this team because it’s a very young team,” Zeller said. “Hopefully I’ll be able to direct them in the right direction.”
Zeller’s adjustment has been made easier by the Nets playing a system similar to what Brad Stevens runs in Boston, with a lot of dribble handoffs.
“Just a nice [addition]. Obviously he’s got experience, started in the playoffs,” Atkinson said. “He does a good job of understanding what we want right away, and for a new guy he fit in pretty well with the guys. I like that.”
For Allen, getting pushed around by Mozgov was eye-opening. But he showed a quick jumper, rim protection and mobility in the pick-and-roll. In short, exactly what the Nets are hoping to see from their first-round pick.
“I see him mature beyond his years. I don’t want to make any predictions yet where he is, but right now if I was going to say early returns he’s going to help us sooner than I thought,” said
Atkinson, who admitted Allen needs to get stronger. The 234-pounder acknowledged as much himself.
“That was my first time really scrimmaging like that where it was controlled. This was my first NBA experience playing against NBA guys,” said Allen, who missed Summer League. “The game’s a lot quicker than college. There’s a lot more things that I know now that I have to adjust to be the player I want to be.”
The biggest adjustment?
“Dealing with the speed,” Allen said, “and trying to guard Mozgov.”