Brooklyn Nets: LaMarcus Aldridge Plants His Flag in Flatbush

From the desk: THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

THURSDAY

Hornets 89

Nets   111

FINAL

Newest Net LaMarcus Aldridge Brings Old School Artistry to the Paint

Change (verb) - 1. make (someone or something) different; alter or modify.  2. replace (something) with something else, especially something of the same kind that is newer or better; substitute one thing for (another).

Making his Nets debut, LaMarcus Aldridge, who turns 36-years old this coming summer, scored eleven points with nine rebounds and six assists.  His play in the paint was a work of art, featuring post-ups, a blocked shot, a plus-22, and two personal fouls in the prevention of easy layups, for which I am very appreciative.  Meanwhile, Nicolas Claxton played only 14 minutes, and DeAndre Jordan played none.

We've been witnessing James Harden involve and demand from DeAndre Jordan a higher level of play.  To his credit, Jordan tries keeping up and perhaps leads the team in the highest percentage shot in basketball, slam dunks.  How minutes at the center position get dispersed moving forward remains to be seen.  That being said, I cannot wait till James Harden plays together with LaMarcus Aldridge, who brings both a complementary and different dynamic to the Nets.

I don't mean to pile on Joe Harris, but I must.  Consistency for him remains an alien concept.  Thursday's performance against Charlotte effectively renders inconsequential Wednesday's 28 point effort against Houston.  Among Thursday's starting five against the Hornets, Joe played the second-most minutes but was the lone starter to not score in double-digits.  He finished 3/9 from behind the arc for nine points and distributed six assists.

Otherwise, playing without Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Blake Griffin, Kyrie Irving took on the distributor's role with a game-high eight assists and a game-high eleven rebounds to go along with 15 points.  Spearheading Brooklyn's group effort, Jeff Green led the floor with 21 points in 31 minutes.  

Landry Shamet and Tyler Johnson were strong off the bench with 17 points and 15 points, respectively.

Brooklyn's collective defensive effort was palpable.  The Nets outscored the Hornets 32-11 in the first quarter and took a ten-point 68-48 lead into the half.  Charlotte was limited to 89 total points, as the Nets cruised to a 22 point margin of victory.

Flatbush improves to 20-6 at home and retains their first-place Eastern Conference standing by one-half game over Philadelphia.