Is Bojan Bogdanovic's long slump over? He talks about it in past tense

The Bojan Bogdanovic who helped the Nets get into the playoffs last season didn't show up in Brooklyn until Tuesday night.  Before the Rockets game, Bogdanovic had been basically a non-factor. As Andy Vazquez writes; in his previous 11 games, the 6'8" Croatian hadn’t cracked double figures in points or attempt more than seven field goals. Then Tuesday, he scored 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting.

He finally looked like the Bogdanovic the Nets saw last April, when he was EC Rookie of the Month, averaging 14.4 points on 52.6 shooting overall and 48.8 percent from downtown.  A sprained ankle and a less-than-impressive showing in FIBA Europe seemed to stagger him.

"He made shots and he was aggressive," Lionel Hollins said. "We would like to hope that this is a turn-on switch for him to have a series of games where he scores in double figures and shoots the ball well."

Bogdanovic agreed."It was really difficult for me," Bogdanovic said of the slump. "Really. I lose my confidence ... I had many easy points at the beginning. So [hopefully] now I will start to play better."

The Nets will need Bogdanovic to be aggressive over the next two months. That's how long they expect Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to be out.  Bogdanovic will never defend or rebound like his 20-year-old teammate, but he can bring what Hollis-Jefferson can't, an unpredictable and sometimes explosive offense.

• Nets notes: Surgery for Hollis-Jefferson - Andy Vasquez - The Record
• Bogdanovic on confidence, win over Rockets (Video) - YES Network