Both players are very good though Lopez looks to be the future. To my knowledge Frank has never started a rookie from game 1. Not taking anything away from Boone but Lopez is our best blocker on the team. Also I drafted Lopez on my fantasy basketball league when no one even dared to chose him. What do you guys think?
Imo better players should start, Boone will probably get the option to start, but may as Sean did defer to the better player for the team. Lopez will eventually be the starter on this team, I don't see why we hold him back.
i think lopez starts the season opener because of boone's condition. if he starts off well he might keep it.
Who would Frank have started? Marcus Williams? Sean Williams? Boone? Antoine Wright? None of those guys deserved to start when they were rookies. Lopez, on the other hand, does. That's why he'll be the starting center for the Nets in game 1.
Lets look at the rookies Frank could have started on Day 1 (remembering that Boone was injured at the start of his rookie season): Nenad Krstic, Antoine Wright, Marcus Williams, Hassan Adams, Mile Ilic, Sean Williams. Sean Williams started for the first time in the Nets' 10th game of his rookie season, the earliest any rookie has started under Frank. Krstic started for the first time in the 24th game. Adams made his first start in team's 43rd game, Marcus Williams in the 53rd. Wright didn't start til his second season. Same with Boone. Ilic never started, thank God. The point is that other than Krstic and Sean Williams, the others were backing up the Big Three so it's really irrelevant. Ilic doesn't count. Unless Kidd, Carter or Jefferson went down, none of those guys were going to start. Krstic was backing up Mourning, who went on strike, and Sean Williams was backing up Malik Allen, not a lot of competition. Now, Brook Lopez is in the same situation. Boone is a good player, but he is not Kidd or Carter or Jefferson. The competition isn't that great...and unlike the previous years, the measure of success isn't playoff series won. It's getting the young players--particularly Yi and Lopez, I think--opportunities to develop. I don't think it's a problem for Frank. And remember, the starting job was never Boone's to lose. Frank has been careful to say only Carter and Harris are guaranteed starting jobs.
IMO, Lopez and Yi at PF. As both have thus far shown themselves to be foul-prone, Boone should see at least 28 mpg. At least as the season starts. Performance may be the determining factor after that.
Since Josh will have had over a week off before he participates in a practice again, and since Lopez looked so darned good in every game he played, save the first half of his first, I think Lopez will likely get the start. Were it not for Boone's heart scare, however, I'm confident he would have started (and still might) simply because Frank does favor experience over talent unless the latter is overwhelming. He's a bit paternalistic with rookies, not wanting to put too much pressure (recall the terrible substitution against the Hornets last year when he took Sean out of the game late in the 4th after a brilliant performance, Jason Collins committed a stupid foul on a 3-point shooter, and the Nets wound up losing. Frank thought "the moment might have been too big" for Sean). Frank also has little tolerance for the mental mistakes that typify a rookie's game while having great tolerance for a player that knows what he's to do and does it to the best of his ability, even if that ability is very modest (e.g., Collins). I think Frank can rationalize starting Lopez from the get go because of the Boone time off thing, and, deep down, he has to know that Lopez is THE center of this team going forward. But he could also legitimately reason that Lopez's talents would best serve the team with a second unit that could run it's offense through him, maximizing his per minute impact on the court. If I had to guess, I'd say Lopez starts on opening night but may not have the job for long if the second unit struggles a lot or if the Nets win/loss record is very poor through the first 2-3 weeks.
I think Lopez should start at center, and if Yi's defense doesn't improve maybe go with Ryan Anderson. Front line from the west coast.
Yi's defense is a huge issue if he's trying to play the 3, but I think it's capable at the 4. Throughout the preseason he and Brook had no qualms getting feisty in the paint and blocking shots. Even if you want to debate how good his PF defense is, it's obvious that his offensive ability justifies getting him on the court as much as possible, and it's a skill set that works great with Brook.
Lopez and Yi are the Nets' starters and Boone is a good backup. There's no reason it shouldn't be that way from day one.
Not anymore, not after Lopez averaged 11.8 ppg and 7.8 rpg and 2.3 bpg, about the same as Greg Oden. Anyone think Greg Oden won't start for the Blazers? (And I dont want to hear how Oden is Bill Russell. Reports out of Portland are that he does a lot of things well, but he hasn't shown he can be dominant.)
Man, I'm so happy. So so happy to have a real center on the Nets. Yeah Krstic was good, but he isn't as good on defense as Lopez. I'm just really excited to see this guy develop. And this is after hating him for years as I rooted for Cal.
You think there's that much of a dropoff in his d from the 4 to the 3? I'd like to see all three on the court at the same time for a bit.
Krstic wasn't really a center in my option. He was a PF. Krstic didn't have the rebounding and blocking ability expected of a center. I'm pretty psyched about having Lopez on the team. We finally have a big man dedicated to rebounding. No more need to have a J.Kidd leading the team in rebounding.
When he plays the three he'll have to involve himself chasing his man around the perimeter. Playing PF on defense will allow him to stick to the paint. It's not about some abstract reason why he's slower when playing different positions. It's about him against faster and quicker players.
It would be so nice to see Yi and Brook start from day one, and play well enough so we don't have to change the starting froncourt all season long. Basically they are our future frontcourt. They have the most potential to become the best PF and C from our frontcourt, and i think a case can be made that they are already our best PF and C. Najera and Anderson are our backup PFs, and Boone and Sean/Stro the backup Cs. And I think these players should be backups, because they would not be quality starters, and probably they don't even have the potential to become.. Yi and Brook have the potential, so let's hope they get there, and get there soon
