Nets head coach Steve Nash has said DeAndre Jordan minutes could be a possibility in their first-round matchup against the Boston Celtics. DJ’s expensive minutes need to be a certainty. Allow me to explain.
The Celtics are shorthanded and don’t have their All-Star wing Jaylen Brown (wrist) and one of Boston’s main big men, Robert Williams, is day-to-day battling turf toe. They do have Tristan Thompson, who has earned a lavish living as a glass-cleaning menace. He has playoff experience, has won a championship with the Cavaliers, and is fresh off a five-year, $82 million deal because of his timely rebounding, specifically on the offensive glass. He has secured offensive rebounds in the most pivotal playoff moments, and winning the rebound margin is an area the Nets have struggled this season.
“It’s going to be a team effort to keep somebody that averages that many offensive rebounds and has done it for a long time. You have to match his physicality and his energy,” Nets forward Blake Griffin said Thursday. “We’re not the best rebounding team, but by committee we can be. It’s about getting stops and finishing those stops with a rebound and not giving them extra shots. It’s huge.”
Jordan is not the same player who once reigned as a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Father Time is undefeated. Jordan appeared just once in the Nets’ final six games of the season, and for only a five-minute stint in that appearance. His minutes were sliced after the Nets signed LaMarcus Aldridge, but he continued to find himself outside the rotation after Aldridge’s abrupt retirement due to a heart condition.
But Jordan has the size, strength and I.Q. to beat Thompson at his own game. He has played in nine playoff series and has been to the Western Conference Semifinals three times. He will be key in helping keep bruising bigs like Thompson in check.
“He is a priority. His offensive rebounding is elite,” Nash said of Thompson. “It is a key for us to limit their offensive rebounds.”
The Nets will continue to rotate their centers as they’ve done throughout the regular season, and for good reason. Jordan is not the center you want switching onto guards or defending stretch fives. The Nets have performed poorly in matchups where Jordan has been tasked with those assignments.
They did, however, sign the veteran to a four-year, $40 million contract. He is in Year 2 of that deal and there is no option in Year 4. That’s as expensive of a Did Not Play-Coach’s Decision as we’ll see in the playoffs, at least for a player that is healthy.
The Nets, quite frankly, need to get their money’s worth, and it would behoove them to do so in this playoff push. It’s not just Thompson they will have to get a hold of on the inside.
If the Nets advance past the Celtics, the Bucks will be waiting with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez. Jordan saw minutes against the Bucks and took his shot at guarding “The Greek Freak.”
Should the Nets advance past the Bucks in the second round, it’ll likely be Joel Embiid and Dwight Howard lurking in Philadelphia for the 76ers. If Embiid isn’t the most difficult center to defend, he’s second behind Denver’s Nikola Jokic. Note: Jokic is as dominant an interior presence as Embiid, who is averaging more than 28 points, 10 rebounds, a steal and a block per game.
And if the Nets ultimately make it to the NBA Finals, there’s a strong chance they’ll run into LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. That means a steady dose of Anthony Davis, Montrezl Harrell and Marc Gasol that the Nets will need to handle.
“DJ is always ready. He’s a true pro,” Kevin Durant said of his teammate. “So whenever we need him he’s going to be there for us.”
There’s also the impact Jordan can have as a lob threat on offense, and that lob pass becomes more threatening now that James Harden has returned from his nagging hamstring strain. Lobs are equal-opportunity in Brooklyn, where Griffin, Jeff Green and Nic Claxton have each proven to be more than capable finishers at the rim.
It’s yet to be seen whether the Nets are capable of slowing down opposing bigs, like Thompson, from making an impact on the glass and in the paint. They’re going to do it as a unit, but Jordan just might be the team’s best bet.
