The Morning Tip-Off: Jarrett Jack Returns?

Every weekday morning, Brooklyn’s Finest will scour the interwebs for the best (and worst) of Nets coverage from the previous day (and night).

1. Andy Vasquez of NorthJersey.com reports that Jarrett Jack is expecting to suit up for the Nets second game of the season in San Antonio tonight:

A hamstring injury kept Jack out of Wednesday’s season opening loss to the Bulls.

But Jack returned to practice Thursday, and tonight he hopes to be in the starting lineup for the Nets when they play the Spurs in San Antonio.

“Hopefully, I won’t have any restrictions or soreness from [Thursday’s] practice,” Jack said. “Just waiting on the doctor’s clearance at this point.”

As much was made about the drop off from Deron Williams to Jarrett Jack in the preseason, the drop-off from Deron to Shane Larkin looked even more devastating. Larkin was given an opportunity in the Nets loss to the Bulls on Wednesday night, but he didn’t exactly run with it. Donald Sloan didn’t get much of an opportunity at all. Instead Markel Brown played crunch time minutes at the point guard position.

The Nets would do well to get Jack back, not only to help steady the offense, but also to provide a threat of outside shooting after the Nets didn’t knock down one shot from the outside on Wednesday.

2. Speaking of the point guard position, Anthony Parisi of Rant Sports argues that the Nets should take a look at Nate Robinson, who the Pelicans waived yesterday:

Shane Larkin and Donald Sloan are Brooklyn’s other options at point guard which doesn’t provide a very deep unit. Robinson isn’t the same player that he once was, but it’s worth a shot. He wouldn’t cost a lot of money to bring in and has the ability to possibly provide a spark to the Nets off of the bench. Brooklyn was forced to use Markel Brown as a point guard for a little bit on Wednesday due to an anemic point guard rotation.

Considering how desperate New Orleans themselves are for healthy NBA talent, including at the point guard position, I’d say it’s a real red flag that Nate Rob was waived unceremoniously after two games. But I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for the former Dunk Champion. At the very least he could provide outside shooting that the Nets are obviously lacking.

But he would face the same struggles that Shane Larkin presents defensively, where larger guards will attack him and he may fair even worse. And playing Robinson and Bargnani in the same lineup would really push Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to try to keep the bench unit together defensively. He has a more recognizable name, but I’m not sure Nate Robinson offers anything more than Shane Larkin does at this point in his career.

3. Our fellow TrueHoop Network brethren at 48 Minutes of Hell are doing some really creative and thought-provoking things this season. If you’re a fan of the NBA and writing, you should head over there to check them out. In reaction to the Spurs loss at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night, they collaborated and Matthew Tynan’s portion stood out to me:

This is all directed at both ‘panicky guy’ and ‘I told you so’ guy. They both exist in their own weird worlds. The Spurs lost, as was expected by most with a rational head, and they had moments of inconsistency on both sides of the ball. And this is going to be the norm for a little while. San Antonio has some specifics to flesh out as it transitions, so now is the time for patience.

You don’t like the way the second unit defended with West and Diaw in the game together as the primary big? You’d probably better get used to watching that tandem feel itself out, because it’s going to spend a bunch of time on the court. You didn’t like some of the shots Aldridge took? Ohhh boy, you’re in for a long season. You don’t think Kyle Anderson is the answer as backup small forward? You’ll probably need to find a new tree that needs some barkin’.

If the Nets have any hope tonight beyond ‘Jarrett Jack as the franchise savior’ (which is depressing in and of itself), it’s that the Spurs do have some minor issues to work out with a different roster from the past two seasons. To be clear, I have no doubt that the Spurs will work those issues out over the course of the season. But, if the Nets are going to snag a win in San Antonio this season, this would be the time to do it.

The Spurs bench isn’t as deep as in years past, there are defensive questions when West and Diaw share the floor, and LaMarcus may take a few less-than-Spursian shots.

But, then I think about what Kawhi Leonard did to Kevin Durant, and what he’s going to do to Joe Johnson, or god forbid, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and … well, we may never see poor Rondae again after this game.

Once again, this could get ugly.

Happy Halloween and see you next week!