NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets (25-52) were coming off an exciting weekend for the team as they achieved a two-game winning streak after beating the Washington Wizards and Dallas Mavericks. However, Brooklyn began their four-game homestand Thursday with a matchup against Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves (45-32) and the game went about as expected.
The Nets lost to the Timberwolves 105-90 as Brooklyn wasn’t able to close the gap between them and Minnesota following a decisive second quarter. Nic Claxton continued his impressive play towards the end of the season with 18 points, six rebounds, and five assists against Rudy Gobert and company while Dariq Whitehead had 17 points and three rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench.
Despite having a scary moment after landing on the foot of Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez, Edwards led the Timberwolves with 28 points and five rebounds while shooting 10-of-15 from the field and 5-of-10 from three-point land. Here are three Nets takeaways from Thursday’s loss to the Timberwolves:
Nic Claxton
The Brooklyn Nets are winding down the season and along the way, they are looking to see what young players emerge over the final two weeks of the campaign. Nic Claxton is one of the players that have not taken a step back as he is playing some of his best basketball of the season and this contest was an example of who he can be when he is fully-engaged within a game.
Despite going against one of the best defensive centers in the NBA in recent memory, Claxton put up 18 points, six rebounds, five assists, and two steals while shooting 9-of-10 from the field in just 24 minutes. Claxton had several moments in this game that exemplified how valuable he is to have on the floor and how there is still room for him to grow in terms of consistency.
Here’s what head coach Jordi Fernandez had to say about Claxton’s play:
“9-for-10 from the field. Sounds like a very good performance with five assists, six rebounds in 24 minutes. I think Nic was excellent. That’s the type of Nic we need whether he plays 24 (minutes), 30, or 36. Right now that we have him play like this, like he’s been doing consistently, we’re gonna be very good.”
Dariq Whitehead
Whitehead has been one of the players that the Nets are hoping can develop into the kind of guy that can contribute on a nightly basis. While he hasn’t spent much time with Brooklyn in terms of playing time, Whitehead has shown that he understands what he is being asked to do and he has tried to fulfill that role to the best of his ability, no matter who the opponent is.
With this season coming to an end, Whitehead has been seeing more playing time recently and he has shown that he is willing to shoot three-pointers at a high rate, but his consistency varies. Be that as it may, Whitehead ended this game with 17 points and three rebounds, while shooting 5-of-9 from three-point land against a stout Minnesota defense.
Here’s what Whitehead had to say following his performance:
“Just do the right things. I’m sure me, as well as the coaching staff, know by now how talented I am offensively, gonna make shots. For me, it’s just doing the right thing. Earning coach’s trust, being in the right spots. On defense, doing the right things and from there, I know everything else gonna take care of itself. For me, just making sure I’m doing the right things, knowing all the principles and everything.”
Playing Time For Younger Players
While this season has not gone the way that Nets fans have been hoping for in terms of winning games, the good news is that the end of the season allows for some of the younger players to see the floor. For instance, nine of the 10 players that saw action against the Timberwolves played at least 18 minutes with players like Tosan Evbuomwan playing 30 minutes in the contest.
As mentioned earlier, Whitehead had a solid game against Minnesota while Evbuomwan showed why he was once part of the regular rotation before he was asked to help Long Island get to the G League playoffs. The effort to spread the playing time was evident in this one as D’Angelo Russell played just 13 minutes despite starting the game at the point guard spot.
Here’s what Fernandez gave as his reason for the minutes distribution:
“Number one is to give a look at these younger guys during an important part of the game where you can see how they handle it. He’s been dealing with the ankle, just trying to be smart with that, too. He’s been pretty sore and I just don’t want to run him into the ground.”
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: 3 Nets takeaways from 105-90 loss to Timberwolves
NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets (25-52) were coming off an exciting weekend for the team as they achieved a two-game winning streak after beating the Washington Wizards and Dallas Mavericks. However, Brooklyn began their four-game homestand Thursday with a matchup against Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves (45-32) and the game went about as expected.
The Nets lost to the Timberwolves 105-90 as Brooklyn wasn’t able to close the gap between them and Minnesota following a decisive second quarter. Nic Claxton continued his impressive play towards the end of the season with 18 points, six rebounds, and five assists against Rudy Gobert and company while Dariq Whitehead had 17 points and three rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench.
Despite having a scary moment after landing on the foot of Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez, Edwards led the Timberwolves with 28 points and five rebounds while shooting 10-of-15 from the field and 5-of-10 from three-point land. Here are three Nets takeaways from Thursday’s loss to the Timberwolves:
Nic Claxton
The Brooklyn Nets are winding down the season and along the way, they are looking to see what young players emerge over the final two weeks of the campaign. Nic Claxton is one of the players that have not taken a step back as he is playing some of his best basketball of the season and this contest was an example of who he can be when he is fully-engaged within a game.
Despite going against one of the best defensive centers in the NBA in recent memory, Claxton put up 18 points, six rebounds, five assists, and two steals while shooting 9-of-10 from the field in just 24 minutes. Claxton had several moments in this game that exemplified how valuable he is to have on the floor and how there is still room for him to grow in terms of consistency.
Here’s what head coach Jordi Fernandez had to say about Claxton’s play:
“9-for-10 from the field. Sounds like a very good performance with five assists, six rebounds in 24 minutes. I think Nic was excellent. That’s the type of Nic we need whether he plays 24 (minutes), 30, or 36. Right now that we have him play like this, like he’s been doing consistently, we’re gonna be very good.”
Dariq Whitehead
Whitehead has been one of the players that the Nets are hoping can develop into the kind of guy that can contribute on a nightly basis. While he hasn’t spent much time with Brooklyn in terms of playing time, Whitehead has shown that he understands what he is being asked to do and he has tried to fulfill that role to the best of his ability, no matter who the opponent is.
With this season coming to an end, Whitehead has been seeing more playing time recently and he has shown that he is willing to shoot three-pointers at a high rate, but his consistency varies. Be that as it may, Whitehead ended this game with 17 points and three rebounds, while shooting 5-of-9 from three-point land against a stout Minnesota defense.
Here’s what Whitehead had to say following his performance:
“Just do the right things. I’m sure me, as well as the coaching staff, know by now how talented I am offensively, gonna make shots. For me, it’s just doing the right thing. Earning coach’s trust, being in the right spots. On defense, doing the right things and from there, I know everything else gonna take care of itself. For me, just making sure I’m doing the right things, knowing all the principles and everything.”
Playing Time For Younger Players
While this season has not gone the way that Nets fans have been hoping for in terms of winning games, the good news is that the end of the season allows for some of the younger players to see the floor. For instance, nine of the 10 players that saw action against the Timberwolves played at least 18 minutes with players like Tosan Evbuomwan playing 30 minutes in the contest.
As mentioned earlier, Whitehead had a solid game against Minnesota while Evbuomwan showed why he was once part of the regular rotation before he was asked to help Long Island get to the G League playoffs. The effort to spread the playing time was evident in this one as D’Angelo Russell played just 13 minutes despite starting the game at the point guard spot.
Here’s what Fernandez gave as his reason for the minutes distribution:
“Number one is to give a look at these younger guys during an important part of the game where you can see how they handle it. He’s been dealing with the ankle, just trying to be smart with that, too. He’s been pretty sore and I just don’t want to run him into the ground.”
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: 3 Nets takeaways from 105-90 loss to Timberwolves
