SHANGHAI – During a recent scrimmage, Brooklyn Nets coach Lionel Hollins took it upon himself to call fouls.
Brook Lopez got swiped across the arms on a shot attempt; Hollins didn’t blow the whistle.
When Lopez got a breather, he chucked a Gatorade water bottle three-quarters of the way across the gym.
Hollins has been harder on Lopez than any other player. Hollins knows the value of a quality postman. He believes Lopez, an All-Star in 2012-13, can be a dominant big man again, as was Marc Gasol in Memphis, where Hollins last coached.
“He’s been a successful head coach and he knows what he wants,” said Lopez. “He wants his players to get better. That’s what happened in Memphis and I think that can happen here. Hiring him was the right decision.”
Pushing Lopez seems to be the right decision as well. He looked solid on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Arena in the Nets’ 97-95 NBA Global Games preseason win over the Sacramento Kings.
Going up against Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins, considered one of the best young power centers in the game, Lopez played the entire first quarter, scoring 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from the line. He also added two rebounds and a blocked shot.
Lopez missed most of the 2013-14 season after breaking a bone in his right foot. He had two surgeries in the off-season: one was to fix the fracture and redistribute the stress on his right foot, while the other surgery repaired a torn tendon in his left ankle.
He looked like a player determined to prove once again that he is an elite center. Midway through the third quarter he scored and was fouled. Lopez patted the side of his head and shouted before sinking the free throw.
Lopez finished with 18 points and six rebounds in 25 minutes. Trainer Tim Walsh sent him to the locker room midway through the fourth quarter for ice, but Lopez returned to the bench for the final minutes.
“I think Brook is getting himself in shape,” said assistant coach Paul Westphal. “He’s far ahead of where we were afraid of where he was going to be. He’s getting his timing.”
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE: With the Nets holding a 97-95 lead, the Kings got the ball to star Rudy Gay and let him go one-on-one against Sergey Karasev. Karasev forced Gay left. Gay’s shot clanged off the backboard and rim and went wide. The Nets had the win and Karasev had a lot of love from his teammates.
CHINA SYNDROME – Lionel Hollins, feeling a bit under the weather, did not coach; Paul Westphal took over the first chair. His last head-coaching gig was with the Sacramento Kings in 2011-12.
Alan Anderson did not play because of the strained abdominal muscle. He was much more active in Friday’s practice and stayed late to get in extra shooting work.
MADE IN CHINA – A lot of the electronics you use today are made in China. But the Chinese still have a little to learn about hoops. The shot clocks in Mercedes-Benz Arena worked automatically, but in order to signal subs and the end of quarters, techs had to insert microphones into small manually-controlled desktop horns.
BROOOK-LYNN! BROOOK-LYNN! After the Nets ran off a 5-0 spurt to take a 27-20 lead that had the Kings calling for a timeout, the franchise’s popularity around the world was evident: Fans took up the Barclays Center-haunting chant of “Broook-lynn.”
AMBASSADOR PLUMLEE: Fresh off helping the U.S. win the gold medal in the FIBA World Cup in Spain, Mason Plumlee showed that he continues to be a world citizen. He took the microphone before the game and welcomed the fans in Chinese.
DUMPLINGS AND CHEESECAKE: The dumplings in Shanghai were fantastic but fans here would trade them for a Junior’s cheesecake. During a pregame video that showed the best of Brooklyn, the loudest ovation came when a picture of Junior's was flashed on the video board.