Kris Humphries Benched in Brooklyn Nets’ Win

Brooklyn Nets head coach tagged forward Kris Humphries with the dreaded “DNP-CD” on Sunday, as the Nets won 95-92 against the visiting Philadelphia Sixers. Following the game, Humphries tried to be diplomatic. Per the NY Post and Newsday: “I visited with him in my office before [the game], and this was basically a coach’s decision,’ Johnson said. ‘It’s nothing to do with Humphries. He was healthy … he is fine. He’s not in the doghouse. We just had to try something else, and we’ll see how long we can go with it.’ Yesterday’s DNP was the latest step in what has been a gradual reduction in minutes for Humphries, who played fewer than 20 minutes in five of the previous six games. But Humphries, who signed a two-year, $24 million contract as a free agent in July to return to the Nets after averaging a double-double each of the past two seasons, admitted not playing came as a bit of a surprise. ‘[Johnson] just said he was starting Gerald [Wallace] and it was going to be inconsistent for a little while,’ Humphries said. ‘I didn’t know it was going to be a DNP, but you have to be ready for anything in the NBA.’ […] ‘Anybody wants to start and play as much as possible, so you are obviously frustrated. But it’s about more than one player.’ Humphries never even peeled off his warm-ups, staying glued to the Nets’ bench. Keith Bogans started in the frontcourt, sparkplug Reggie Evans backed up Wallace at power forward and Johnson said that likely is the way his lineup will be. Humphries, who has looked lost at times offensively and often failed to rotate to the right spots defensively, is the odd man out.”