The Nets have lost four games in a row and hold a record of 3-16 on the season, but there are starting to be signs of hope — not necessarily for this season, but for the future, writes C.J. Holmes of the New York Daily News.
On Friday’s loss to the Sixers, rookie lottery pick Egor Demin shook off a scoreless first half to finish with the best game of his young career. His final stat line was 23 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two blocks, one steal, and five made threes.
“I just think we really needed to flip a switch and find a way,” Demin said. “And for me, it was the moment when I just felt it better, and I found that extra energy 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.”
Head coach Jordi Fernandez liked what he saw in the second half, but is determined to bring out more consistency in the young, 6’8″ guard.
“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,” Fernandez said. “It doesn’t need to be equal or even, but he just has to find a way.”
Demin missed Saturday’s loss to the Bucks as he continues to rehab from his offseason left plantar fascia tear.
We have more from the Nets:
- For stretches of the Nets’ loss to the Bucks, rookie big man Danny Wolf was the best scorer on the court, Holmes writes. He scored 22 points with four assists and five made three, leading the team in scoring, made threes, and minutes despite coming off the bench. It was only Wolf’s second time seeing more than three minutes in a game, both of which came in the last three days.
- Michael Porter Jr. has missed the last two games with lower back tightness. Lewis writes that, despite the team not expressing concern about the injury, Porter’s history of back issues makes that a concerning update. “Obviously, we’re never going to rush him. His health, body, is the No. 1 priority,” Fernandez said. “We’re not concerned. [It’s] tightness, and we’ll see how he feels.”
- The Nets’ interest in Giannis Antetokounmpo is a poorly-kept secret, but Saturday’s blowout at the hands of the Bucks only shows how far away they are from being in a position to entice him, Lewis writes in a separate piece. Antetokounmpo scored 29 points and eight rebounds in just 19 minutes as the Nets were unable to offer any resistance to his onslaught. This summer, the former MVP was rumored to have a desire to play with the Knicks, and has made it clear that his number one priority is to contend for championships.