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The Nets are used to not having things go their way, but the indignities seem to piling up faster than ever. We haven't seen the bottom for this one-time, would-be contender, but the season-ending knee injury suffered by Jarrett Jack last week is probably going to hasten their decline.
Jack hasn't been and isn't a difference maker, and that held true for Fantasy owners as well. However, he was competent enough to be helpful, averaging 12.8 points and 7.4 assists per game in the first 32 games of the season, production that will have to come from somewhere else. And this really isn't a roster with an obvious replacement, something we saw on display Monday.
The Nets kept their game with the Celtics relatively close, ultimately losing by eight, with big contributions from Joe Johnson, Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young, who combined for 63 points. There wasn't much else for Fantasy owners to note however; Bojan Bogdanovic scored 12 in an increased role, while replacement point guard Shane Larkin hardly made an impact. The third-year guard from the University of Miami scored just four points on 2 of 7 shooting and, most disconcertingly, managed just two assists in nearly 27 minutes of action.
If anyone is likely to step into Fantasy relevance, Larkin is the most likely candidate, but it's awfully hard to get excited about that prospect. A former No. 18 overall pick, Larkin was a strong defender in college, but even then hardly put up numbers that blew you away -- as a 20-year-old at UM, Larkin averaging 14.5 points and 4.6 assists per game in 36.4 minutes per game. And, though he has improved since a forgettable rookie season that saw him average just 2.8 points in 48 appearances with the Mavericks, Larkin still doesn't really look like someone who can make a Fantasy impact.
Larkin's per-game averages remain lackluster, and his per-minute numbers don't give you the feeling that there is a star here waiting to be released. While serving primarily as a second-unit option, Larkin is averaging just 12.1 points, 6.8 assists and 2.4 steals per-36 minutes -- pretty close to what Jack was managing. However, playing with three high-usage players like Lopez, Johnson and Young is likely to cut into even that somewhat meager production, especially since Larkin is unlikely to play 36 minutes per game anyway.
Larkin is worth a flier for Fantasy for his youth and athletic potential, but it's hard to see him becoming much more than a fringe-starting caliber player. In fact, the most likely players to benefit from Jack's absence are probably the three high-usage stars already getting big minutes.
Lopez and Young should see an increase in their usage with Jack out of the picture, but Joe Johnson may be the real winner here, assuming he is still capable of it. We've seen flashes of greatness from Johnson, including in Monday's game, when he scored 21 points on 8 of 15 shooting with six rebounds and four assists. For the season as a whole, however, he is shooting just 36.3 percent from the field and 30.7 percent from 3-point range -- dreadful numbers given his former greatness.
However, Johnson should have the ball in his hands more, and might end up serving as the de facto point guard for long stretches. If he can get in rhythm and settle in as even a low-40's shooter, Johnson could be in line for a solid second half of the season.
Johnson has been hard to hold onto for Fantasy, with his ownership dropping to just 79 percent in CBSSports.com leagues. However, in light of this latest news, I'm probably holding Johnson for at least a few more weeks, and I might be tempted to go add him in those leagues where he is available.
Other role players like Wayne Ellington and Donald Sloan should get their moments too, but the fact of the matter is that this Nets' team is just bereft of talent. The biggest impact the Jack trade may have is in spurring them to make a trade, though with no first-round pick to their name this season, they don't really have any incentive to tank.
The Nets are in a bad place, all around, and that really does extend to Fantasy. There just isn't much to get excited about here, and even the promise of new faces in the rotation doesn't change that.
