Reasons to Be Positive

I had a small surgery yesterday, so I have not read any comments on this site in the past 2-3 days - so I apologize in advance if any of this has been discussed previously on these threads. That didn't affect my ability to watch the game last night, and there are/were some tremendous positives to take away from this game.

First and foremost, Marshon Brooks is going to be a player in this league. I think last night (his first start) started to show the full range of his abilities, and not just on the offensive end of the court. Offensively this kid can definitely score - and like the great scorers he has the ability to score in transition, off the dribble, catch and shoot, and behind the arc. I have also been impressed with his ability to post up smaller defenders - as this is a skill that many top scoring guards fresh out of college do not yet have. He also seems to possess a good basketball IQ and a decent court vision - he had a very nice pass out of the double team to the other block where Shelden Williams was unable to convert the bucket.

Defensively we are starting to see the effect that his octopus arms can have on the perimeter as he was able to affect passing lanes as well as reaching in to knock a ball loose. Ironically however, what impressed me the most was when he deflected a pass and went the length of the floor and simply laid the ball in for an easy 2 as opposed to attempting a crowd pleasing slam. While I will be in the minority on this - I think it shows tremendous awareness to conserve your legs and go for the sure 2 points when your team desperately needs wins and offense. Think back to Terrence Williams - he would have attempted (and most likely made) a thundering dunk - but it is still only worth 2 points and how often have you seen a guy clank one off the back iron attempting to MJ it on the break. Also in a stike shortened season - it is imperative for guys to conserve their legs at every opportunity and this rookie already understands that. He is definitely a mature rookie (another reason why drafting guys with 3+ yrs of college experience is so important) and understands that he is going to be relied upon heavily by the Nets this year to provide offense and defense and conserving his energy is paramount to team success.

This team is on the verge of boasting an excellent backcourt duo of Deron Williams and Marshon Brooks - that seems to be gaining considerable chemistry with each other and will be complementary ability wise. DWill is best suited to being a facilitator first, and a scorer as a second or even third option. He is not (nor will the team) be successful when he is forced to play off the ball as the primary scoring threat. While it is only 7 games into the season with a shortened training camp no less, Marshon is clearly proving that he is a capable scoring threat at the SG position and I would assume he starts the rest of the way. The team seemed to avoid their slow start in the first quarter with Marshon providing early and often offense - which when he is on the bench just does not exist. I commented a few days ago that this season is not just about us getting Dwight but on selling DWill on the potential for a backcourt of DWill and Brooks - and Brooks is clearly doing his part. I think Brooks is going to have a very good chance at winning ROY honors - as he is going to play big minutes and be a focal point of the offense the rest of the way out. And on the floor with DWill will open up scoring opportunities for Marshon even more.