Nic Claxton had a hard life’s journey to the track, full of disappointments and setbacks. But now that the young old man is back, he’s already surpassing what the Nets might have expected.
“I think it’s fair. He just did it with injuries from his shoulder to his knee and all. You never want to have too high expectations, “Steve Nash said after the Magic’s 129-92 season defeat on Thursday.” But it’s a testament to the coaching staff that worked with him every day and his diligence with his work.He worked his ass to get into that position and was very productive.
“Nic’s energy was excellent. I haven’t played in about a year, so to play those last two games, and to be as disruptive as he is, I think he had four steals and two blocks. [he] assists, bounces. He is someone we believe in and who we believe has many advantages, who continues to grow and who does so step by step. But I was impressed and I was very happy to have been successful here. “
Claxton’s first game was held on Tuesday, February 28, 2020. He had to fight again after hamstring strain in December 2019, shoulder surgery in June 2020, and finally a tendinopathy of the right knee. But he continued his season debut against the Kings, with 10 points, a maximum of four steals in the race, three rebounds and a block in 15 minutes of high energy on Thursday.
Claxton said playing with James Harden and Kyrie Irving has simplified life.
“You have to respect them around here, so that the ground opens. I haven’t shown half of what I have in my bag, “Claxton said.” But it makes it easier for someone like me. It creates a lot of space and it’s individual, and it’s going to be fun. “
Claxton picked up a technical foul to hang on the edge after a mess, but said Irving and Harden had already promised to pick up the token. Irving gave Claxton “The Alchemist” to read, and apparently is now Claxton’s nickname.
Landry Shamet added 19 points in another resurgent game.
After firing just 25 percent from the 3-point range in December, it reached 32.7 percent last month and has reached 41.7 percent so far this month.
“Are you saying it’s going to go 50% in March? I like where you’re 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 that is trying to turn this corner and I think it’s starting to have that confidence in what we’re doing and it’s fantastic. “
Tyler Cook debuted with Nets.
Networks have a lot of flexibility. Nash said they could reclaim recently resigned Andre Roberson or Iman Shumpert on ten-day deals and would also see the buy market.
“It is possible that they could return; that’s a front office question, “Nash said.” In the buying market, that’s one of the reasons 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 changed after the big trade, we need to be flexible to keep our options open. ”