Bojan Bogdanovic knew who to buddy up with following the best game of his young NBA career.
Bogdanovic had 22 points and six rebounds -- both career highs -- during Sunday’s 104-96 win over Orlando.
And the rookie got a big helping hand from
Kevin Garnett as the Big Ticket assisted the Nets rookie on six of his nine made baskets.
“KG, I am lucky to play with him,” Bogdanovic said. “It is my pleasure to be with him. After this game, he is going to be my best friend because he finds me.”
Garnett had seven assists, his highest total as a Net. And almost all of them went to the rookie forward. After a game like this, Garnett may be looking for Bogdanovic even more.
The 6-foot-8 Croatian is still learning the nuances of the NBA game, but he is quickly figuring out there could be more games like Sunday.
“I know that I am going to have the shots, so I have to practice a lot,” Bogdanovic said. “Especially because all teams are thinking about Deron [Williams], Joe [Johnson] or KG, so I have to work hard to score.”
Sunday’s win over Orlando was a glimpse of why the Nets have been so high on Bogdanovic. The Nets traded for him on draft night in 2011, when Bogdanovic was selected with the 31st overall pick.
It’s been a long wait to get Bogdanovic over to the NBA, but the timing may be just right. Bogdanovic said that at 25 and with his seasoning overseas, he felt this was the right time to join the NBA.
“He is a rookie but he’s not because he has played at a high level for so long,” Williams said. “He is 25 years old. He knows how to play the game. He didn’t have much of a weakness. He can pass, he can shoot, he can dribble and post up. He is very versatile. He has meant a lot to this team.”
Surrounded by veterans like Williams, Johnson and Garnett, Bogdanovic is in a situation that many rookies don’t find themselves in. He is starting on an experienced playoff-caliber team.
The Nets, though, understand they need to be patient with their rookie, who is literally feeling his way through the NBA game.
“Obviously he has gotten used to the NBA balls, that was the first problem with him,” Nets coach Lionel Hollins said. “He felt like the balls were heavier, and then just learning the NBA game and learning schemes.
“Coming to the NBA, there are a lot more sets, there’s a lot more screening, a lot more cutting, things that you don’t necessarily see in the college game, even overseas [where] there’s a lot of motion.”
Bogdanovic’s big game was only the second time he has scored in double figures. But in his last four games, he is averaging 12.7 points on 9.2 shots per game.
“Our offense is the kind of offense where if you cut hard and move, you are going to get open,” Williams said. “And also teams are keying in on myself, Joe and Brook [Lopez], and he is benefiting from that. He finds himself getting wide-open shots, and he is also doing a great job of attacking the defense.”
And perhaps most important, Bogdanovic is getting the minutes to learn. Hollins has played Bogdanovic 32 minutes in each of his past two games and the rookie is averaging 10 points and 27.3 minutes on the season.
“I feel more comfortable, especially because I play a lot of minutes,” Bogdanovic said. “That is the key -- my confidence.”
If Bogdanovic had come overseas last season, he would have played sparingly with veterans like
Paul Pierce and
Shaun Livingston playing key minutes for former head coach Jason Kidd.
“This is the right time to come here,” said Bogdanovic, who signed a three-year, $10 million deal this summer. “I am 25. In Europe, I was a top scorer over there. This was the perfect time to come overseas and try to play in the NBA.”
