Why is DeAndre Jordan not playing? Are injuries the reason behind his absence from the Brooklyn Nets lineup?
DeAndre Jordan has not had a bad season in the NBA by any measure. He has averaged 7.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, and is the Brooklyn Nets’ best rim-protector and defensive rebounder. DeAndre Jordan is in the third year of a four year-$40 million deal and has not featured in the NBA since the Brooklyn Nets’ victory over the Denver Nuggets on May 8th. Regardless, Jordan has been pushed out of the rotation despite center LaMarcus Aldridge's recent retirement and has not played a single minute in the 2021 NBA Playoffs.
The Brooklyn Nets have instead relied on the likes of Blake Griffin, Jeff Green and Nicolas Claxton at the center position instead. In this article, we look at the reasons why Steve Nash has opted to rotate the three instead of relying on the rim-protection and rebounding abilities of DeAndre Jordan.
Is DeAndre Jordan injured? Why is he not playing for the Brooklyn Nets?
It appears as if DeAndre Jordan’s absence from the Brooklyn Nets’ lineup is purely tactical in nature. DeAndre Jordan’s rebounding skills were used by head coach Steve Nash throughout the regular season. The Brooklyn Nets have seen a vast change in their playing style since the last month of the regular season.
The Brooklyn Nets boast some top-quality offensive players capable of hitting teams with pace in transition. They have relied on pick and roll and good ball movement to get their shooters good looks in the basket. Before the Milwaukee Bucks’ spirited fightback and compounding of the Nets’ injury troubles with Kyrie Irving also hobbling off in game 4, the plan had worked without a problem.
The Brooklyn Nets have relied on pace, perimeter defenders and elite shooting to exploit the superior quality of offensive players. So far, the Nets have taken on the likes of the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks in the 2021 playoffs, two teams that rely on big centers in the form of Tristan Thompson and Brook Lopez.
Instead of playing on their terms and letting their own best rebounder in form on DeAndre Jordan have a go, they have relied on smaller, pacier players to push the likes of Thompson and Brook Lopez back and dominate offensively. In the last two matches, the Milwaukee Bucks have not relied too much on the ball-handling or shooting of Lopez. His screening abilities allow the likes of Khris Middleton and Giannis to charge at the Nets’ defense.
The result was Brook Lopez’s reduced offensive output and volume of shooting. He has converted just three of 13 field goal attempts in the two matches that his team has won, and scored a grand total of nine points. However, Lopez was a defensive force, and had 10 and 11 rebounds in the last two matches along with six blocks in game 3 and three steals in game 4.
In such a scenario, in addition to the fact that both Kyrie Irving and James Harden are not certainties for game 5, a DeAndre Jordan-recall might just be on the cards. Of course, Jordan has not played in more than a month in the NBA, and still has a chance to impact the Brooklyn Nets’ title bid.