In just his fourth NBA season, Brooklyn Nets big man Nic Claxton is emerging as a leader.
“Just taking pride in defense,” Claxton told Brian Lewis of the New York Post about what Brooklyn needs to do differently in Game 2 versus the Philadelphia 76ers on April 17, just one day before his 24th birthday.
“We just need to guard up a little bit more. The double teams are good, but at the end of the day, you’ve gotta be able to man up and get stops – or make it difficult.”
The Nets lost 121-101 in Game 1 putting them behind the eight-ball in terms of winning the series.
Brooklyn’s double-teams were geared toward slowing down Sixers’ superstar Joel Embiid who finished Game 1 with 26 points but also had five rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and one steal. Claxton tallied just give points to compliment his 10 rebounds, three blocks, and one assist finishing as a game-worst minus-20 on the night.
Nic Claxton: We’ll learn from this game.
Despite the understandable logic behind it, and to Claxton’s point, the doubles only served to open the Nets up to second-chance points and wide-open threes.
“When you’re doubling and rotating a lot, it becomes a little bit harder to box out,” forward Cameron Johnson said after Game 1 via YES Network on YouTube on April 15. “So we just have to have a continued high attention to guys crashing, putting bodies on them. Because it’s physical. It’s physical, and sometimes guys are coming in clear and you just got to take a hit, give a hit, whatever it is.”
Philly got up 19 more shots than Brooklyn.
Nic Claxton has made a ton of strides this season and he still has so much untapped potential to develop.
One area of growth — offensive rebounding. BKN needs to steal more possessions.
Claxton was 23rd in the league in OREB per game among players who played 30+ games with 2.4.
They also hit eight more threes and were plus-18 in second-chance points while the Nets committed 11 more turnovers leading to a 19-point disparity in points off turnovers.
As for Claxton, this is not the first time that he’s sent a pointed message to his teammates, and the previous message also revolved around the need for a greater group effort in attacking the glass. Claxton, listed at 215 points, will have his hands full with the 280-pound Embiid on both ends of the floor if he gets his wish.
Sixers’ Backups Gaining Confidence
Brooklyn might be focused on slowing Embiid, but his supporting cast did their parts as well as P.J. Tucker and Paul Reed both made big impacts on the game.
“If they’re going to double[-team Embiid], the glass is open,” Tucker said, per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “You’ve got to be aggressive. That’s one of the faults of doubling, not being able to rebound out of it. But a lot of times, I have guys on me that can’t stop me from getting rebounds
“So getting extra possessions, there’s going to be games where we’re going to need them. When we are not scoring, it’s good to get extra shots at the basket. It changes the game.”
Tucker chipped in six points, seven rebounds, five steals, and two assists.
Reed – 11 points, four rebounds, two steals – was much more matter-of-fact about his performance off the bench.
“5-for-6, couple dunks, couple rebounds, couple steals – that’s what Paul Reed do.” – @Bball_paul 🤷♂️
“Just a different look than Joel,” said Johnson. “He’s sitting, same thing [as Tucker], in the dunker [spot]. Break down the point-of-attack defender, draw the help, and give it to him for dump-offs. But he’s an energy guy, high offensive rebounder. So we just got to be a little more alert for what he does in the game.”
Game 2 is sure to bring on a different set of challenges as both teams make adjustments.
Jacque Vaughn Fighting a Losing Battle
Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn spent some of his postgame availability and time during practice to address what he felt were several missed traveling calls on Embiid.
But he could be fighting a losing battle with the officials.
Here is where Jacque Vaughn is lobbying for a walk. I guess it’s worth trying, but not sure he’s got a valid case….
“He only got one pivot foot,” he said, per Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News adding, “I’ll just say that.”
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Nic Claxton Questions Nets’ Plans, Suggests Making Changes