Brook Lopez Getting Chance to Start, Looks Like a Keeper

By PATRICE EVANS

Updated 8:21 AM EST, Tue, Nov 18, 2008

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With Josh Boone sidelined by an ankle injury, the New Jersey Nets have gotten a chance to look at Brook Lopez, the tenth pick in last year's draft. And the results have been positive; Brook "don’t-call-me-Jennifer" Lopez looks like a keeper!

Putting up a breakout game against the Hawks, the non-afro’d twin went for 25 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks in a Nets win. The line in his next game was muted, but resulted in another New Jersey victory. Generally since stepping on the court in preseason, Lopez has shown all the tools needed to be a near-immediate addition to the starting lineup.

His emergence leave the Nets with a nice sleeper crop of young big men; Josh Boone and his cornrows/ethnic ambiguity, high-jumping crowd favorite Sean Williams, and Easy Yi, the prize from the Jefferson deal, give New Jersey an enviable (and postracial!) posse of prospects manning their front court. A posse Lebron James might even like to run with someday.

Dreams of LeBron aside, with Devin Haris beginning to show off his potential (30 points in back-to-back games), and VInce Carter comfortably veteran star/glue, this is a team that despite currently sitting in lastp lace in the Atlantic division, should develop into a legitimate force.

Whether they're in Jersey or Brooklyn, and rolling with King James or not.