Apparently, Brooklyn Nets power forward Reggie Evans doesn’t think much of the championship the Miami Heat won last season – or of superstar small forward LeBron James.
“It doesn’t prove nothing. That was a lockout season,” Evans told the New York Daily News on Wednesday when asked whether beating the defending champs would prove something to the rest of the NBA.
The Nets and Heat face one another for the third and final time on Wednesday night at Barclays Center. Miami won the first two meetings between the two teams by a combined 43 points.
For his part, James isn’t too impressed by the Nets, despite their recent turnaround under interim coach P.J. Carlesimo.
“Their offense hasn’t changed, their defense,” James said of the Nets on Wednesday. “They just picked up the intensity level. You can tell that they like to play for P.J.”
“It sucks that Avery (Johnson) had to take the hit of them not wanting to play at a high level,” James added.
Johnson went 14-14 this season as Nets coach before being fired in late December.
Carlesimo, who has gone 13-4 since taking over in Brooklyn, called James “unguardable” on Tuesday. But it sounds as though Evans disagrees.
“Our team is defending the Miami Heat. If our team has to defend one person, LeBron isn’t going to score nothing. LeBron is no different from Joe Johnson or Andray Blatche. No different,” Evans told the Daily News. “People need help (on defense). Some people don’t need help. Everybody has to be double-teamed, it doesn’t matter who you are. You just have to stop LeBron in transition.
“He’s quick in transition. If you look at Joe Johnson — Joe Johnson has two or three people trying to stop him. Whoever is guarding him.”
James went 6-10 in his first 16 games against the Nets’ franchise, but has gone 16-0 since. He has scored at least 20 points in his last 19 games against the Nets, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
James said Tuesday he “wasn’t losing any sleep” over playing in Brooklyn for the first time, according to The Miami Herald. But Evans’ comments could make him more motivated to have a big night.
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