Rodions Kurcus made his return to the starting rotation last night, and he made an immediate impact. Kurcus recorded 19 points and 6 rebounds on 7-12 shooting (5-7 from three). Kurucs’ 19 points are tied for the second most points he has ever scored in an NBA game. For his entire rookie season, Rodi is averaging 8.8 ppg and 3.7 apg on 46.6% shooting from the field in 20.4 minutes per game. Kurucs has shown tremendous potential throughout his rookie season, but like a typical rookie he’s had his rough patches. Kurucs’ three point shot has been very inconsistent this season, as he is shooting just 32% from deep. Rodi’s shot will get consistent with time, and he will be a serious weapon when that happens. For now though, Rodi is more of a finisher at the rim than a shooter. Air Latvia has shown his ability to catch oops, and throw down on defender’s heads (see his dunk vs Miami). Rodi found his way to the bench because of his very bad February, and the return of Treveon Graham. Rodi hit the rookie wall in February, as he averaged just 5.4 ppg in the 8 games in February. Kurucs even found his way out of the rotation when the Nets returned from the all star break, but that only lasted one game. Kurcus went from January 23rd to March 2nd without a double digit scoring performance. Kurucs was not getting significant minutes during that stretch, and the results showed.

Coach Kenny Atkinson decided to put Kurcus back in the rotation yesterday after the Nets had lost 3 straight games. Treveon Graham had started the last 10+ games at the 4 and was very inefficient. Graham is averaging just 5.4 ppg and 3.0 rpg on 33.6% shooting from the field. Graham is not a proven scorer, as he is a much better defender than scorer. Even though Graham is a very talented defender, he was being forced to play the 4 when he is just 6’5 inches tall. Most 4’s in the NBA are at least 6’8, and it’s very difficult to guard someone 3 inches taller than you. The Nets got crushed on the boards when Graham was at the 4 because of their lack of height. Kurucs immediately provided an upgrade over Graham, as he is 6’9 and can rebound much better than Treveon. Rodi is also an upgrade over incumbent forwards Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (8.9 ppg 5.2 rpg on 40.9% shooting from the field) and Jared Dudley (4.7 ppg 2.6 rpg on 40.7% shooting from the field). Both RHJ and Dudley have started at the 4 for the Nets, but no one has been as effective as Kurucs has been. Rodi was the 4 when the Nets played their best basketball of the season from mid December to January, and he will now look to be an integral part of the Nets’ playoff push. Rodi is one of the most important pieces of this Nets team, and the team goes as he goes. Hopefully Rodi could keep his good play up, and the Nets can keep their 6th seed in the Eastern Conference.

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