‘BOOK’ OF GENESIS
PF can create new Nets identity on ‘D’
When Trevor Booker takes the court, opposing offenses notice.
But Nets coach Kenny Atkinson is waiting for the Nets’ offseason acquisition to make opponents cower on the defensive end as well.
“We’re telling him to unleash it,” Atkinson said of Booker’s yet-be-seen offensive game. “That’s where he has to adjust from being a backup ... We tell him ‘you’re a starting power forward. You have freedom to make mistakes, defend your butt off and make aggressive plays.’ ”
Booker flashed some of his offensive game when he scored 11 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against the Celtics early in the preseason. He finished the preseason averaging 5.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.
One place where the Nets don’t need Booker to be more aggressive is on the defensive end. The 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward is already an intimidating force, one expected to help the Nets improve on a defense which ranked last in fieldgoal defense during last year’s 21-win campaign.
And while the preseason results — ranking last in scoring defense (111.2 points per game) and field-goal defense (47.9 percent) — do not indicate a change, Booker had an effect. When he was on the court, the defense looked starkly different with his ability to switch on pick-and-rolls and quickness in closing off the paint.
“He’s like our energy bunny,” Atkinson said. “He’s our barometer of where we are defensively with our energy. His activity is huge.”
So is his ability in helping a young team acclimate to Atkinson’s defensive system. Booker arrived in Brooklyn having played in a similar system in Utah, giving him an ability to adopt a leadership role with the Nets. It’s much-needed, too. Atkinson has dealt with the tenuous balancing act of trying to remain basic and simple in his defensive system — one that helped the Hawks lead the league in field-goal defense last season — and adding more plays to what can be a complex system.
“It’s a similar situation that I experienced in Utah,” Booker told The Post. “It was a young team where they looked to me as a leader and that’s what the Nets saw in me. They brought me in to show the young guys the ropes.”
It would be smart for them to listen.
Last season, Booker ranked as the league’s 28th best player in defensive efficiency with a 102 rating. In comparison, the Nets had no player ranked in the top 50 and just one — the departed Thaddeus Young — in the top 100.
During the preseason, Booker displayed his tenacity on defense by frustrating the Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis, holding him to just five points on 2 of 7 shooting with four turnovers. It’s what Booker expects to be the norm this season.
“I’m looking to go out there and play with a lot of energy on the defensive end,” Booker said. “Just frustrate the whole team, not just one player and try to get my teammates doing the same thing.”
If they do, the Nets’ rebuild may occur quicker than previously thought.