NEW YORK _ Ahead of the Nets' Friday matchup against the San Antonio Spurs, head coach Kenny Atkinson hinted that a change was on the horizon. Brooklyn had just lost by 39 points to a Memphis Grizzlies team without two of its three best players.
For a Nets squad that had lost six of its first eight games coming out of the All-Star break, something had to give.
"You just think about tweaking, there's no doubt about it. You do think about it. I do think we've done that in the past. There comes a point it's like man, let's try something different," Atkinson said. "So we're getting close to that point. We could do something like that, whether it's lineup or tactically, definitely within the realm of possibility."
That change was at a position the Nets failed to address during the offseason. Brooklyn moved starting power forward Taurean Prince to the bench in favor of reserve Wilson Chandler. One game after losing by 39, the Nets built a lead as big as 33 in their eventual 139-121 win on Friday night.
It's not that black and white, though. The beatdown at the hands of the Grizzlies was the second game of a back-to-back and a game where Brooklyn shot 7 of 42 from 3 and 30 of 90 from the field.
But the decision to sit Prince _ a tweener forward who fancies himself a shot creator and play-maker _ in favor of Chandler, a veteran four who does little more than catch-and-shoot 3s and defend his position, paid dividends.
The Spurs were without several key players: former All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge (shoulder), starting center Jakob Poeltl (MCL sprain) and sharpshooter Marco Belinelli (illness). The energy the Nets lacked in their embarrassing loss to the Grizzlies was present for their shellacking of a once-juggernaut San Antonio team.
The Nets pounded the Spurs on the glass and pelted their opponent from 3. Their 33-point lead was sliced down to as little as 15, but Brooklyn seized control once again to pull away down the stretch.
Caris LeVert was electric. He whipped assists across the court, crashed the boards and lit into the Spurs for his first career triple-double: 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists on the night. Spencer Dinwiddie also turned in 19 points and nine assists.
Brooklyn is as tough a team as anyone in the league when both of their play-makers are cooking at the same time. The Nets are also tough to beat when their shoot 3s first, ask questions later philosophy bears fruit: Brooklyn responded from a 17% 3-point shooting night against the Grizzlies by shooting 15 of 36 (41%) against the Spurs.
Eight different Nets players scored in double figures with Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot leading the second unit with 19 points on 3-of-5 shooting from downtown. Prince, in his first game off the bench, shot 5 of 14 and missed all four of his 3-point attempts _ but he led the second unit with a plus-minus of +12.
The win couldn't have come at a better time. It gave Brooklyn a much-needed jolt of energy with one more home game remaining against the Bulls before a four-game West Coast road trip featuring games against the Lakers, Warriors, Clippers and Kings.
