Nets reserve heart Day’Ron Sharpe missed Tuesday’s sport in opposition to the Toronto Raptors at Barclays Heart with a left glute contusion suffered in Sunday’s loss to the Knicks. He was initially listed on the harm report with left hamstring tightness.
In his final outing at Madison Sq. Backyard, Sharpe performed simply over 12 minutes, posting 10 factors on excellent 3-for-3 capturing with six rebounds, a block and a steal earlier than sitting the fourth quarter. He’s averaging 6.7 factors, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 10 video games this season whereas capturing 64.9% general and 33.3% from deep.
The 24-year-old, who signed a two-year, $12.5 million extension within the offseason, missed 21 straight video games to start out the 2024-25 season with a left hamstring harm and one other 10 to shut the 12 months with a proper knee sprain. Head coach Jordi Fernández mentioned he doesn’t imagine Sharpe’s newest harm is as critical.
With Sharpe sidelined, Brooklyn recalled rookie large man Danny Wolf from its G League affiliate to bolster frontcourt depth behind beginning heart Nic Claxton. The 6-11 ahead, chosen twenty seventh general in June’s draft, had logged simply three minutes this season getting into Tuesday. He impressed in his most up-to-date G League outing, ending with 25 factors on 10-for-19 capturing, 13 rebounds and two assists in Lengthy Island’s loss to the Capital Metropolis Go-Go on Sunday.
Wolf’s call-up displays the group’s broader strategy to growth, one centered on competing now whereas constructing for the long run. Ben Saraf, chosen one spot forward of Wolf, was additionally recalled from the G League, whereas Nolan Traore, the nineteenth decide, remained with Lengthy Island.
“I think people usually misunderstand what you call rebuilding,” Fernández mentioned. “For us, it’s building winning habits; and winning starts now. And the only thing is, we know inside what it means. And being competitive is very important. And you cannot go out there and not compete and not give yourself a chance. Seeing these guys’ development is important.”
Sharpe’s absence, mixed with prolonged minutes for an inexperienced frontcourt, solely compounded one in every of Brooklyn’s greatest weaknesses. The Nets have allowed extra factors within the paint than any crew within the league, a problem that continues to undermine their defensive schemes no matter which guard-big pairings are on the ground.
Fernández mentioned that has to vary.
“There’s no negotiables here,” Fernández mentioned. “Ball pressure and being aggressive in pick-and-roll, I think you watched the Detroit game, right? And you look at the top defenses like OKC, and all those teams are able to execute multiple coverages, but for the most part they’re at the level and they pressure the ball. So, if you don’t want to do that, you probably are not going to be able to play for the Nets, because we’re going to be aggressive. And as we grow, we’ll be able to execute multiple coverages. Right now, with our stage, we’re going to stay with the basics. But there’s no excuses for not protecting the rim. I think that all of the schemes that like I’ve mentioned — and I could give you a thousand numbers; I’m sure you guys are very good at looking at them, too — you can be able to be aggressive and also protect the rim.”
