The Nets haven’t loved Cam Thomas’ scoring since Nov. 5, they usually took one other hit earlier than Friday’s 115-103 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers when Michael Porter Jr. was dominated out with decrease again tightness. Porter had averaged 25.7 factors in Thomas’ absence, leaving Brooklyn severely quick on reliable offense.
Thomas is a couple of week away from his subsequent harm replace, and whereas the Nets aren’t anxious about Porter’s again subject, head coach Jordi Fernández stated they received’t push him to return earlier than he’s prepared. For a younger roster, these shorthanded stretches can typically invite performances nobody noticed coming.
“I think it doesn’t [change the philosophy of the offense],” Fernández stated. “Don’t take me wrong, it changes because those guys, their superpower is that they create a lot of attention, like I said with MPJ. But at the end of the day, it’s part of the NBA. There’s an opportunity for somebody else.”
And within the second half, Egor Demin made essentially the most of his probability, exhibiting skeptics why it’s harmful to evaluate a rookie too early.
Nic Claxton and Terance Mann have been the lone Nets in double figures at halftime, and Tyrese Martin added 9 factors off the bench. Brooklyn managed simply 38.5% capturing within the opening half, with Demin held scoreless throughout his first 11 minutes because the Nets went into the break trailing 63-48.
Then a normally passive Demin flipped a change, scoring eight factors within the third quarter and 15 extra within the fourth to complete with a career-high 23 factors, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, one steal and two blocks, almost dragging Brooklyn again into the sport by himself. He attacked the glass, showcased actual playmaking really feel, skipped by way of the paint and knocked down 5 threes, ending only one shy of tying the franchise’s single-game rookie report.
When the Nets wanted offense, the 19-year-old delivered, serving to the group lower the deficit to single digits on 4 totally different events within the second half and validating his standing because the No. 8 choose. For one evening, the league noticed precisely what Brooklyn sees in him.
The imaginative and prescient is getting clearer.
“I just think we really needed to flip a switch and find a way,” Demin. “And for me, it was the second after I simply felt it higher and I discovered that additional vitality in myself.
“To really find that assertiveness and being decisive and being focused on what I can control and what we can control as a group and keep really following our staples and really trying to reach the goals we put pregame on our game plan and being able to get stops and run the floor.”
Fernández was inspired by Demin’s efficiency in opposition to Philadelphia, however he nonetheless desires to see extra consistency from each the rookie and the group. He cautioned in opposition to complacency but praised the Russian guard for stepping up and enjoying aggressively when the Nets wanted him most.
And with Brooklyn’s prime scorers sidelined, that kind of assertiveness turns into much more useful. Nights like this are reminders of how alternative can shift shortly on a younger roster, and the way essential it’s for gamers like Demin to remain prepared when their quantity known as.
“He’s going to have to do that for four quarters and not just to take three attempts in the first [half] and 15 in the second,” Fernández stated. “It doesn’t need to be equal or even, but he just has to find a way. And today, we needed him… And I thought his aggressiveness helped us, helped us and gave us energy.”
