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The Brooklyn Nets have not been a physically imposing team in a long time. That lack of phsyicality has been a common criticism of Sean Marks’ rosters in his decade-long tenure as GM, though there have been a couple notable exceptions. Andre Drummond and Day’Ron Sharpe aren’t just strong on paper; they’re two of the best offensive rebounders of the 21st century.
Those two are more exception than rule. Jarrett Allen, Nic Claxton, and Noah Clowney all have their individual strengths, but they are also prone to getting pushed around in the paint. This has irritated Nets fans to no end because the cycle repeats every couple years, feeling more like a stain on the front office rather than the individual players.
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It’s not just big men, and it’s not just physicality. David Nwaba tore his achilles during the 2019-20 season, and Brooklyn did not then roster a wing with nearly as much burst until Drake Powell, whose quick-twitch ability is exciting partly because we have not seen it in so long.
Some of this is inherent in watching a bad team lose a bad game. Where they are long, they are not strong; where they are strong, they lack burst. If the Nets were full of plus-athletes, they’d probably be better.
But for all the panic over the Flatbush Five’s relative lack of athleticism and size, the tide is shifting, ever so slightly. Clowney has continually scaled down positions, playing the 5 for much of his rookie year with the Long Island Nets but manning the wings of late, where his lack of strength and vertical explosion is a bit less of an issue. I think the a-ha moment was a couple of Long Island matchups against the Mexico City Capitanes in Clowney’s rookie year, when a 34-year-old Kenneth Faried put him in a hydraulic press.
Brooklyn’s signing of Chaney Johnson to a two-way contract drew some surprise, but he has had a fun stint with the big league club despite a lack of traditional offensive skills. Johnson is a thick 6’8”, and has put that frame to good use, grabbing offensive boards, blocking shots, and dunking the ball seven times already while getting fouled on a couple other…
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Publish date : 2026-03-28 08:39:00
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