The Brooklyn Nets were able to win easily on Friday night with a 117-102 win against the San Antonio Spurs. With Kevin Durant and Joe Harris still on Brooklyn’s injury report, Nets stars James Harden and Kyrie Irving had to carry the load for the team. Brooklyn’s backcourt combined for 61 points in the win.
“James was electric. Obviously, the stat line is incredible. Kyrie was an assassin at times, just being able to create offense for himself. Overall, I thought everybody really played a role and did their jobs,” Nets head coach Steve Nash said after the win per NetsDaily.
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Nets Add Thon Maker to G-league Roster
Per Alec Sturm of NetsDaily the Nets are signing former Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Piston’s big man Thon Maker to their G-League roster. Maker, a 7-footer, was selected 10th overall by the Bucks in the 2016 NBA Draft after coming straight out of high school. Maker’s most recent appearance in the NBA was last season when he played 8 games with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Per Basketball Reference, Maker averages 4.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.6 assists per game for his career.
Despite paying a king’s ransom to acquire Harden last season, the Nets have done a great job outsourcing for talent in unlikely places. The Nets had to give up a myriad of draft picks in the Harden trade but were able to find four of the best rookies from this year’s draft class in Kessler Edwards, Day’Ron Sharpe, Cam Thomas, and David Duke Jr. and develop them through the G-League. Now the Nets have just added what could end up being another key piece in Maker.
Steve Nash Details Nets Split From Paul Millsap
As the February 10 NBA trade deadline approaches, the time has come for contenders to trim the fat off of their rosters, and make last-minute adjustments in preparation for the playoffs. The Nets have gotten a head start on that process. Brooklyn, and All-Star forward Paul Millsap, have mutually agreed to part ways. Steve Nash detailed the reason for the split per Brian Lewis of the “New York Post”.
“You add it all up, there are five centers. I think it makes it difficult and for different reasons and different parts of the season, we pressed different buttons and although he did get some opportunities, he didn’t get a ton of opportunities,” Nash said via the “New York Post”.
“I feel that was unfortunate for Paul, and I understand. Just a difficult situation we didn’t foresee but here we are. Day’Ron and Nic have emerged, LA [LaMarcus Aldridge] has had a great year and we know Blake’s been available the whole season and whether he’s playing very well or he’s struggling, we know what he brings. You add it all up, there’s not enough space for everybody.”
Nash Has High Praise for Day’Ron Sharpe
While all of the Nets centers have been impressive for different stretches this season, Nash has paid particular attention to rookie big man Day’Ron Sharpe and how he has adjusted to the NBA game.
“His understanding of the NBA game, he has more of a feel for the actions. It’s different than in college. It’s way more space, you’ve got to cover territory, you’ve got to cover people in space. You’ve got to be able to recover [against] athletic, talented people that have a slight advantage and try to close down that advantage. And that’s a lot different than college,” Nash continued.
“He’s done a good job of finding some of those reads, using some of his physicality, but he also uses his intelligence. He has a good feel for that stuff. It’s coming along quickly for a young guy because he does have that natural feel for some of those things. We knew he has great hands; we knew he was athletic and energetic, but seeing him adapt to the technical aspects of the NBA game has been probably the biggest jump since we met him.”
The Nets continue to find hidden gems in unlikely places. It will be interesting to see if Maker will be Brooklyn’s next success story.
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