Nic Claxton had a difficult journey throughout the year, back to the yard, full of disappointments and setbacks. But now that the young man is back, he’s already beyond what the Nets could have hoped for.
“It simply came to our notice then. He just had a hard test with shoulder to knee injuries and all. You never want to have too high expectations, ”said Steve Nash, after the magic rotation of 129-92 on Thursday. “But it is a proof of the coaching staff that worked with him every day and of his diligence with his work. He put his head down to put himself in this position and was very productive.
“Nic’s energy was remarkable. He hasn’t played in about a year, so he’s been playing these last two games and he’s as disruptive as he is – I think he’s had four thefts and two blocks, [he] assist, he returns. He is someone we believe in and we believe he has a lot of advantages, he continues to grow and do it step by step. But I was impressed and very happy that he was successful there. ”
Tuesday marked Claxton’s first game since February 28, 2020. He had to fight back after a hamstring strain in December 2019, a shoulder surgery in June 2020 and finally a right knee tendinopathy. But it followed its season debut against the Kings, with 10 points, a career high of four steals, three rebounds and a block in 15 minutes with high energy on Thursday.
Claxton said playing with James Harden and Kyrie Irving made life easier.
“You have to respect them there, so the floor opens. I didn’t show half of what I had in my bag, “said Claxton. “But it’s easy for someone like me. It creates a lot of space and is one to one and will be fun. ”
Claxton picked up a technical error because he hung on to the rim after a beating, but said Irving and Harden had already promised to lift the tab. Irving gave Claxton the “Alchemist” to read, and now it’s Claxton’s nickname.
Landry Shamet had 19 points in another invigorating game.
After recording just 25 percent of the 3-point range in December, it reached 32.7 percent last month and reached 41.7 percent so far this month.
“Are you saying it will be over 50 percent in March?” I like where I’m going with that, “Nash said. “Landry is a very good shooter. We all know that. It’s just a new situation, a new environment, a new role trying to turn that corner and I think he’s started to have that confidence in what we’re doing and it’s wonderful. ”
Tyler Cook made his Nets debut.
Nets have a lot of flexibility. Nash said he could bring back recently dropped Andre Roberson or Iman Shumpert in 10-day deals and will also track the buying market.
“It is possible for him to return; this is a question from the front office, “Nash said. “In the buying market, this is one of the reasons why we want to be flexible in my eyes, to see how we can improve our team. I don’t think it’s any different. … Especially for us, with the way the list has changed after the big transaction, we need to be flexible to keep our options open. ”