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Adding future Hall of Famers Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, as well as two other solid veterans in Jason Terry and Andrei Kirilenko to a lineup that already had the offensive skills of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez at its disposal, has put a world of expectations upon the Brooklyn Nets.
But what kind of expectations should be placed on those four new faces, specifically?
First off, they shouldn’t be outrageous by any means, simply because they’ll be surrounded by the other previously mentioned weapons.
Pierce and Garnett still had very respectable numbers in their final season with the Boston Celtics, despite being 35 and 37, respectively. Pierce averaged 18.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in 2012-2013, while Garnett was good for 14.8 points and 7.8 rebounds a night. Both are assumed to be starting at the forward slots this upcoming season, and with those other starters around them, it’s probably realistic to envision each of them averaging somewhere between 10 and 12 points per game. If they’re able to make it up to around 14 or 15, the Nets will consider themselves very lucky.
Rebounding numbers should also take a noticeable dip considering all the size the Nets boast.
At 32, Kirilenko was still able to produce 12.4 points and 5.7 rebounds last season for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He is presumed to be Brooklyn’s sixth man, so asking him to replicate those stats wouldn’t be too much.
Finally there’s Terry, who had a line of 10.1 points and exactly two rebounds per game last season in Boston. His likely role as the backup shooting guard should allow him enough shot attempts to be a consistent double digit scorer once again.
Mike B. Ruiz is a Brooklyn Nets writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @mikebruiz and “Like” him on Facebook.
