One outgrowth of the Nets‘ record spending spree is depth, and that was on full display on Friday when Brooklyn knocked off the Heat. Paul Pierce, one of the team’s veteran starters who stands to benefit from a bench capable of allowing him to play fewer minutes, acknowledged the advantage to Mitch Abramson of the New York Daily News.
“It was huge,” Pierce said. “One to 10, one to 15, we match up pretty much with anybody in the league and we have more depth than anybody in the league, especially when you talk about Andray Blatche, Reggie Evans, Andrei Kirilenko, Shaun Livingston, Alan Anderson.”
Here’s more on a member of the Nets bench and other notes from Brooklyn’s Atlantic Division rivals:
- Anderson was the last piece of the Nets regular season roster to join the team, but his versatility has allowed him to produce like he was one of the team’s first priorities, as Tim Bontemps of the New York Post examines.
- Tim Hardaway Jr. lasted until the 24th pick this past June, but the Knicks rookie is already making an impact in J.R. Smith‘s absence, notes fellow Post scribe Fred Kerber.
- We heard yesterday that Sixers camp invitee Gani Lawal was close to signing in Italy, and agent Errol Bennett tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com that Lawal has put pen to paper with Olimpia Milano, turning away interest from a Turkish team in the process.