Garnett will also have a profound presence in the locker room as the vocal leader the team has lacked. Williams, Johnson and Lopez all prefer to lead by example and share the locker room. Expect Garnett’s unparalleled passion to become contagious and instill an intensity throughout the team.
4. What can we expect from the bench? On paper, the bench unit is unrivaled across the league, with four double-digit scorers and one double-digit rebounder from last season. Kidd can look down his bench at all 13 active players and have the confidence to use any player at any time. No other coach has that luxury.
Terry headlines the unit as a former Sixth Man Award recipient. After seeing his usage and shots reduced in Boston, expect him to be rejuvenated season under the supervision of Kidd, his former teammate on a title team in Dallas.
Reggie Evans became a fan favorite for his blue-collar work ethic and contagious hustle. More importantly, Evans must maintain his reputation as one of the best rebounders for the bench to control the glass and ignite the offense. Evans ranked first in defensive rebounding percentage (37.76) and total rebounding percentage (26.67) last season.
Andrei Kirilenko was the bargain of the offseason after opting out of a $10 million deal with Minnesota before signing with Nets for $3.1 million. His presence gives the Nets a rangy, athletic 
wing to spell Pierce and provide energy on both ends.
Andray Blatche will carry the frontcourt scoring load as the lone post presence off the bench. Blatche resurrected his career in Brooklyn, shooting a career-high 51 percent from the field by reducing his perimeter attempts. His PER of 22.34 ranked 15th among all players.
Shaun Livingston will be the primary ballhandler off the bench while Alan Anderson and Mirza Teletovic will provide shooting to stretch defenses.
5. Will Andrei Kirilenko become the defensive stopper? While Garnett and Pierce were the headline acquisitions, the signing of Kirilenko has been underrated. He was the steal of the summer.
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At 6-9 and 235 pounds, Kirilenko has the rare ability to play both forward positions effectively due to his strength, length and leaping ability. Kirilenko can clog the interior or jump passing lanes on the perimeter thanks to his wingspan and has averaged nearly two blocks as one of the top help defenders in the game.
To reach the NBA Finals, Brooklyn must slow down rival wing players such as LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Paul George. Kirilenko’s defensive versatility will be critical.
Michael Scotto is a Sheridan Hoops NBA columnist. You can follow him on Twitter.
The only necessary clarification I could make to facts presented in article is that Brook Lopez’ foot problem isn’t really alarming any more. He had a larger Titanium screw replace the old screw that had bent during the past season, but still didn’t cause any pain. His foot fracture(s) had already been fully healed. This was just a “preventative” action, not a new injury. Beat writer Stefan Bondy had said that the 2nd (hairline) fracture (March 2012) was in the area of the original fracture from Oct 2011 and therefore may have occurred because Brook returned to play too soon (they were trying to trade Brook for Dwight). Brook’s Twin had the same original injury and has been fine since.
I can’t believe any real basketball fan is doubting the Nets potential. I’m not sure a better fitting basketball team has ever been assembled. Yes, they have to play the games, but Lopez and Garnett as a front court tandem is hilariously awesome. Those two skill sets were made for each other. Pierce and Johnson on the wings…Good Lord! Those two can score from anywhere. They can shoot. They can iso. They take double teams on and dismiss them. But, they can’t be doubled now. It’s silly. And D-Will facilitating the point. That crossover. The range from deep. Rondo couldn’t shoot. D-Will can cross up his guy, penetrate the lane, kick out to Pierce/JJ to spot up. He also can feed them into an ISO set and rotate out as another shooter, who can’t be ignored.
Blatche, AK-47, Terry, Evans, Alan Anderson, Livingston, and company.
This team is silly good. I can’t wait.
By the beginning of December, they will finally be calling the Nets, the first Super Team in the NBA since,? maybe The Dream Team.
What some people don’t understand, is that KG and Pierce won’t need to play the 30 and 34 minutes respectively, that they played last season. And Deron was playing injured until after the All Star Break. Also, the coaching was terrible, to not play Blatche, more with Lopez at his natural PF positition.
Yes, Lawrence Frank is one of the best Xs and Os coaches and JKidd does everything else.
49 wins should become at least 60 wins this coming season, which means contending for a Title.
& jason Kidd Hired Lawernce Frank LoL As An Assistant. Anybody See The Pistons Last Yr. SMH Frank had Andre Drummond Coming Off The Bench Top 5 Center In The Game I Do C The Nets Better Then The other New York Team But Thats About It for The top 3 teams In The East Heat Pacers Bulls Will Not lost 2 Those NYC teams
The grammar in this post is awful. You clearly are one person whose opinion is enlightened beyond measure.
& jason Kidd Hired Lawernce Frank LoL As An Assistant. Anybody See The Pistons Last Yr. SMH Frank had Andre Drummond Coming Off The Bench Top 5 Center In The Game I The Nets Better Then The other New York Team But Thats About It for The top 4 teams In The East Heat Pacers Bulls
I see A Disaster like The Lakers Not Enough Basketball s For All These Players..The Nets Go As Far As KG Takes Them Period..W/Pierce&Terry Careers R Over..Nets Need A Real Coach Like A Doc Or Mchale 2 Make This Work Maybe
Totally different analogy from the Lakers who had no Chemistry with top 4 players, when healthy (never) and rest of team, that sucked compared to this Nets team that is 1-13 strong.