On the heels of Damion James being a rare bright spot in the Nets 116-101 loss the Atlanta Hawks, head coach Avery Johnson announced Thursday that the rookie would move into the starting lineup in place of Travis Outlaw.
He understands what the team loses with the switch, but that the benefits are clear -- and necessary.
"Obviously James doesn't shoot as well as Outlaw, but we love his energy. And hopefully, this will get Outlaw back to some of his familiar surroundings coming off the bench.''
Flipping Outlaw and James likely isn't the only change as he looks to shake up a Nets team that has lost 5 in a row and 9 of 10.
"We may go through several starting lineups this year,'' he said. "At some point, (rookie Derrick) Favors will be starting. My goal was to start him at the 41st game and it's probably going to be a whole lot sooner than that."