The Brooklyn Nets come into the 2015-16 season with extremely low expectations after doing some minor retooling of their roster. The Nets have a few players with a lot to prove and because of that they will need a lot of things to go their way in order to be a playoff team again. One of those players with a lot to prove is Andrea Bargnani who is entering his first season in Brooklyn. Bargnani has a chance for a lot of playing time with the Nets and he may even get time playing alongside Brook Lopez, according to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.
Bargnani spent the past two seasons with the New York Knicks and did not have a very good tenure there. Bargnani only played in 71 games in his two seasons with the Knicks and when he left the team this offseason Phil Jackson went on to call him a "big tease." Bargnani is extremely talented, as he was the first overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, but he really hasn't put it all together in the NBA. Nets head coach Lionel Hollins really likes Bargnani though and plans to utilize him and Lopez together.
"Offensively, those guys are very versatile and they give a lot of problems to the defense, because both can shoot, both can pass, and both can put the ball on the floor, I like those guys playing together at times," said Hollins.
Offensively that pairing could be a tough one to stop but the questions will come on the defensive end where both players tend to struggle. Bargnani has never been known as a defensive player and Lopez struggles in the pick and roll despite being a solid rim protector. Neither of these two seven footers are great rebounders either so this pairing may have its problems on defense but it should make for some really good offense.
Bargnani is expected to be the first big man off the bench for the Nets and he is looking for a bounce back year in a new environment. For his career the Italian averages 15.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while making 36 percent of his threes. Bargnani's ability to stretch the floor should be helpful for the Nets and the fact that not much is expected from him should help him relax and just play his game. Hollins seems intent on giving the Bargnani, Lopez pairing a shot and it should be interesting to see how those two play together.
