Rookies Drake Powell and Ben Saraf have been nowhere to be discovered at Tuesday’s Nets apply. As an alternative, they have been a number of miles East at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, getting G League minutes in Lengthy Island’s 112–107 loss to the School Park Skyhawks.
For Powell, now a daily within the Nets’ rotation, it marked his first G League look. Saraf, in the meantime, returned to a setting he is aware of properly, heading again to Lengthy Island for the primary time since mid-November to get wanted reps throughout Brooklyn’s prolonged layoff earlier than Friday’s matchup with the Dallas Mavericks.
Each rookies continued to point out flashes. Powell scored simply eight factors, most of them on the free throw line, however grabbed seven rebounds and handed out 5 assists as Brooklyn retains pushing him to develop right into a extra full wing. Saraf shot 2-for-10 from the sphere and completed with 10 factors, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
And followers shouldn’t overlook about fellow rookie Nolan Traore, who’s been quickly bettering within the G League since late November. He’s now averaging 18.8 factors, 2.7 rebounds and 6.2 assists throughout 12 video games whereas capturing 41.3% from 3-point vary. He saved that momentum going in opposition to the Skyhawks, contributing 19 factors, seven rebounds and 7 assists within the loss.
Such swings in efficiency are pure for rookies and younger prospects. Repetition is the quickest path to development, and the Nets hope these experiences translate into dependable manufacturing at each ranges of the group. Powell, Saraf, Traore and two-way gamers Tyson Etienne and E.J. Liddell, and others, are all navigating that improvement arc. Coaches in Brooklyn and Lengthy Island are working intently to verify each progresses towards his ceiling.
Jordi Fernández typically says Brooklyn and Lengthy Island function as “two clubs, but one organization.” After Tuesday’s apply, with Lengthy Island’s sport in opposition to the Skyhawks taking part in on the video board, the Nets head coach expanded on what that truly means.
“Obviously, we have our coaches watching how the players are doing, communicating with our coaches there, making sure we meet expectations as far as how we want to compete and how we want them to play, how we see them as NBA players and they do what they’re supposed to do,” Fernández mentioned.
The oversight is shared throughout the group. Lengthy Island’s sport in opposition to the Westchester Knicks on Wednesday will provide one other real-time window into that improvement work, with Powell, Saraf and Traore anticipated to stay on G League task.
“Obviously, we have right now our front office there [today], I’ll be at the game tomorrow, so all those things that we can do to not just support them, but also to make sure that the process goes well and that they understand the only thing we care about is the process,” Fernández mentioned.
Fernández mentioned the developmental method is similar whether or not a participant is in Brooklyn or Lengthy Island. The expectations don’t change. If the employees desires Saraf to run pick-and-rolls with extra intention or keep away from low-value pull-up 3s, these requirements apply in each locations. The identical goes for recognizing good photographs, defending with self-discipline and understanding how every motion suits into the bigger system.
And it’s not simply Powell, Saraf or Traore. Two-way gamers like Liddell and Etienne, together with the remainder of the Lengthy Island roster, are held to those self same benchmarks. For Fernández, the G League just isn’t solely about giving gamers reps. It is usually about constructing alignment throughout the complete operation, from the roster to the coaches to the efficiency and medical staffs who assist form every participant’s development.
“All those reps are huge and it’s also huge for the rest of the guys there,” Fernández mentioned. “They’re our players, too. That’s why we have a coaching staff that sees them every day, we can go through the whole roster, and also with our coaches. We’re developing coaches. We’re developing players. We’re developing performance and medical staff. So, all that is very important for us.”
Whereas Traore’s fast rise speaks to the group’s improvement work, Danny Wolf, the twenty seventh choose in June’s draft, is the clearest instance of how NBA reps can flip into NBA confidence.
The 21-year-old made solely three NBA appearances from opening night time by way of Nov. 24, with a number of G League stints combined in. He dominated at that stage, averaging 20.3 factors, 10.3 rebounds and three.1 assists throughout seven video games whereas capturing 48.1% from the sphere.
Since breaking into Brooklyn’s rotation, he’s shortly turn into a key a part of how the group operates. Over his final six video games, he’s averaging 11.5 factors, 5.5 rebounds and a pair of.3 assists whereas capturing 44.4% from deep, giving the Nets the liberty to stretch the ground and experiment with taller lineups that use the 6-11 rookie as a major connector.
His rise underscores the bigger theme operating by way of the group: constant reps, whether or not in Brooklyn or Lengthy Island, can speed up a younger participant’s trajectory.
“The Brooklyn Nets, Long Island is just one big umbrella,” Wolf mentioned. “The coaches are in unison with their messages and they kind of share the same beliefs. It’s similar schemes both offensively and defensively there. It’s been great. The coaching staff and front office made it clear they want us to get as many reps as possible wherever that may be, and when I was in Long Island, I just tried to take advantage of them. When I got my opportunity here, I just took it and ran with it, and no matter where I’m at I’m just going to keep working on my game.”
