The injury absences of Kyrie Irving and Caris LeVert have been a huge setback to the Nets in terms of trying to develop into a championship-caliber team, but the silver lining has been the development of a strong second unit that is starting to put its own mark on games. That was evident Friday in Charlotte where the Nets' reserves went on a 14-0 run to break the game open at the start of the fourth quarter while holding the Hornets scoreless for a span of 5:56 on the way to a 111-104 victory.
Suddenly, it's the low-profile free-agent signings like Iman Shumpert and David Nwaba who are starting to impact games along with developmental players Dzanan Musa and Theo Pinson while getting important leadership from veteran center DeAndre Jordan, who came in the bargain with Irving and Kevin Durant in the offseason. Now, the test is whether the second unit can duplicate that defensive energy against the Nuggets Sunday afternoon at Barclays Center.
Coach Kenny Atkinson credited Shumpert, who had four steals, for changing the game in the fourth quarter. He was signed using the extra roster spot the Nets received for the last 20 games of Wilson Chandler's suspension, and it appears Shumpert has become an integral part of the team and likely will be retained when Chandler returns on Dec. 15 and the Nets have to release someone.
