NBA G League personalities help Nets thrive amid COVID-19 infections
BROOKLYN – Kevin Durant continued to shine as the lone star of the COVID-19-stricken Brooklyn Nets.
Durant has led the Nets to three straight wins since James Harden and six more Nets entered the health and safety protocols. Their latest victory – a 114-105 win over Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers Thursday night (Friday Manila time) at the Barclays Center – has the Nets firmly on top of the East, 2.5 games ahead of defending champion Milwaukee Bucks (19-11) entering the weekend.
Durant outdueled Embiid down the stretch. The Nets’ remaining superstar capped his heroics with his "get out of here" gesture to the Sixers in the closing moments that was well-received by the 17,053-strong Brooklyn crowd, which included Filipino-American multiple Grammy winner H.E.R. (whose real name is Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson).
The crowd serenaded Durant with M.V.P. chants during his post-game interview.
“Kevin is special. He made a lot of incredible plays,” Nets coach Steve Nash said.
Durant had a near triple-double with a game-high 34 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in 39 minutes. But more than Durant’s brilliance, it’s the Nets’ young players who are helping the team stay afloat despite playing with only a nine-man rotation.
Cam Thomas, the 27th pick, came off the bench to fire 11 points. A lottery talent that slid to the late first round owing to some knocks in his playmaking and decision-making skills, Thomas delivered four assists against only a single turnover. He added four rebounds for good measure.
Second-round pick Kessler Edwards was gutsy. His crucial putback off his miss in the final four minutes gave the Nets a four-point cushion. Edwards had nine points and seven rebounds in 33 minutes.
Undrafted rookie David Duke, Jr. didn’t shoot well but has nerves of steel. He came through when it mattered most, putting away the Sixers with two critical free throws in the final minute. He finished with six points on 2 of 7 shooting and four rebounds in his second start.
Day’ron Sharpe, the 29th pick, was unafraid and he played physical against veteran big man Andre Drummond. Sharpe contributed three points and five rebounds in 13 minutes as a reserve.
Collectively, the rookies held their own against a serious playoff contender. That wasn’t lost on Nash, who was effusive in his praise.
“For me, the toughness [stood out],” Nash said. “They’ve played hard. They’ve been physical. They’ve been unafraid. The most important thing that we’ve tried to instill in them is we want you to develop. We want to teach. We want to give you the opportunity to make mistakes but also be you. Be free out there and play good basketball. We believe in you.”
The four rookies accepted the challenge and Nash couldn’t be happier to see them go for it physically and mentally.
“You tip your hats to the rookies. You also got to tip our hats to our G League coaching staff. Capes (Adam Caporn) and his coaching staff had done a great job presenting them our system, developing them, teaching them. That’s a huge component, too, that deserves credit there. I think the quality of the system that we in place here allowed us to put these four guys out there and to play and our team hasn’t missed a beat,” Nash said.
Thomas was sensational in the G League, averaging 39.5 points and four assists in two games there. Edwards put up 15.6 points and 8.3 rebounds in seven G League games. Sharpe was a double-double machine averaging 18.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in five games with Long Island. Duke, Jr. was solid in his lone G League experience. He had 10 points, seven rebounds and two assists.
But more than the solid numbers they put up, the experience and the coaching they got were more valuable to Nash.
“They’re playing the right way. They’re playing for each other,” Nash said.
The expectations, he said, were unknown when they filled in for their missing players. But the Nets coach quickly added that they never wavered their belief in them.
His trust has empowered the Nets rookies to play well despite the experience gap.
“We believe in these guys and we think they are good players and they have a future in this league,” Nash said.
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Alder Almo is a former senior sportswriter for Philstar.com and NBA.com Philippines. He is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and writes for the New York-based sports website empiresportsmedia.com.
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