Ex-Knicks Larkin, Bargnani spark Nets off bench
When Nets coach Lionel Hollins was asked Sunday how he planned to wring better production out of his struggling bench, he replied: “Just hope they play better.”
Brooklyn’s backups did just that in a 111101 win over Boston, with Shane Larkin and Andrea Bargnani leading the way.
Now the challenge is to do it again. And again.
“That’s what our jobs are, to come in and provide a spark off the bench, push the ball,’’ said Larkin. “I just come play with energy, push the ball, do whatever we can to maintain the lead or push it a little higher.’’
All too often, they have done the exact opposite in this season’s early stages. While 311 Brooklyn has finally found a starting lineup that works, its bench frequently coughs up leads late and contributes to fourthquarter losses.
“They didn’t turn the ball over, and Andrea made shots, Shane made shots. When you make shots and don’t turn it over, you look better,’’ said Hollins. “When you just come down and miss or turn the ball over, and then you don’t stop [anybody], it looks really bad. It was nice to see them play much better.’’
The Nets’ bench is 22nd in the NBA in scoring margin (minus2.29 points) according to Elias Sports Bureau. It’s fifthworst in offensive efficiency (31.1) and sixth worst in defensive efficiency (minus8.0), but on Sunday against the Celtics, that second unit padded the lead instead of blowing it.
“I played a lot with the second unit, and we had a thing going with me, Shane and Bargnani, running the pickandroll with Bargnani,’’ Joe Johnson said of Larkin, who was effective running the pickandroll, with seven points and five assists in 17:50. Bargnani had a dozen points on 6 of 9 shooting and Thomas Robinson added five points, three boards and a plus11 rating.
“Yeah, for sure. Andrea obviously has showed he’s a great midrange shooter, so if I can go off his screen and draw two defenders and just kick it back to him that’s going to open up shots,’’ said Larkin, who has always been better suited for the pickandroll than the triangle he was stuck in on the other side of town.
“Yeah, it’s a much better fit for me in a lot of ways. You can see my numbers have been better. I’m just playing better overall, because I’m more comfortable in a pick-and-roll system or an upanddown system, doing different things rather than coming down and setting in the triangle.’’
Larkin was a poor fit in the Knicks’ triangle offense. He’s better shooting pullups off the dribble, or in a driveandkick offense as opposed to the triangle, where he would be expected to go to the wing and cede much of the playmaking duty, just getting shots off kickouts when the post gets doubleteamed.
After the Knicks traded for Larkin, Phil Jackson repeatedly took shots at the young guard, the last coming in his ESPN diary. He commented on Larkin’s “tiny hands,” and added, “He’s incredibly quick but he doesn’t use his speed the way he should. Shane mainly wants to get his shot off a high screenroll situation.’’
True enough. But the Nets are OK with that. And when the Knicks decided not to pick up Larkin’s thirdyear option, Brooklyn contacted him as soon as he became a free agent on July 1.
“The triangle’s a great offense. It won mad championships. If you have the right players for it, it works great, and they’re having a good season this year, so it’s a great offense,’’ Larkin said. “But for me, personally it wasn’t bestsuited for my type of game. Nothing against it, but it just wasn’t the best fit.’’