January 15, 2025 • 36 mins
On episode 12 of The Backcourt, Sarah Kustok of YES and Lucas Kaplan of NetsDaily dive into the ebb and flow of the Nets' season as the team continues to navigate the challenges of injuries. They also break down how players are stepping up in the rotation, including the impressive play of two-way players Tyrese Martin and Tosan Evbuomwan. And of course, we wrap things up with some Nets trivia!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
You are now in the backcourt, a Brooklyn Nets podcast
presented by Ticketmaster, and we are just flying through the season.
This is the twelfth episode we recorded. And when I
say we, I mean me Lucas Kaplan of NETS Film
Focus and a writer covering the team for NETS Daily,
And alongside me as always is Sarah Coustack, who's actually
with the team as they are on a west coast
(00:29):
a long west coast road trip, stopping in the middle
of the country too.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Sarah, how are we doing?
Speaker 3 (00:34):
We're doing good. We are. We're in the midst of things.
So I'm rolling along here and getting set for which
I know this will drop after getting set for game
tonight in Portland. So it's been it's been fun so far.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeap.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
It's the third on the road of sixth straight on
the road. The Nets kind of doing this looping bit
across the country. They start in Denver, then Utah, then
three games right on the West coast, then they come
back to Okay see on their way back to Brooklyn,
which makes six games. Sarah, are you still doing? You
running every day? Are you running in the elevation when
(01:11):
you get to Denver?
Speaker 2 (01:13):
How is that on the line?
Speaker 3 (01:14):
These are good. They make them strong. These are some
of my favorite running cities, good yoga spots. Yeah, it's
also been I love hot weather. We don't need to
talk about this for too long, but I mean, who
has loved being in Miami Orlando of course, places that
it's been perfect. And I feel like in Utah and Denver.
(01:36):
Here in Portland has been like about forty high thirties
forty and sometimes I like when it's a little bit
of a chill, it feels good, good for the muscles,
good to get the blood flowing. So yeah, it's been.
It's been. That part has been fantastic, I'll give you
that much.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
So yeah, and then you can relate to the players
when they're in Denver in Utah playing in elevation, you
have sort of a first.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Time I'm absolutely running that hard and fast.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Of course, and jumping that high as.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
We all know, as some people ask him, like, you
do know I'm not running that fast awhere off where
you feel the effects. But yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
They're showing they're showing your highlights every game now on
Yes Network.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
It's about it's like a recurring feature.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
It's been coming a little bit much. I don't know.
I feel like they found him and then they just
anytime someone tees them up. But yeah, if that needs
that needs a rip kind of soon.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Yeah, they're going to the well a lot. It's okay though,
we h, we won't bring that up. This is a
podcast audio format though, you know, if we're what if
you're watching on YouTube. No highlights this time. Uh to
get back to the nets though. They are currently on
a season high five game losing streak. Now they're on
the road, as we mentioned, They're going to play Portland
(02:47):
tonight as we record, and it's an opportunity for a
big bounce back because of those five losses. Really, their
best opportunity for a win came in Utah, came down
to the last second twice in regulation and in overtime.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
So I'm just curious.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Let's start, you know, with the first person perspective, Sarah,
what is the vibe around the team?
Speaker 2 (03:07):
How's it going?
Speaker 1 (03:08):
You know, they're in a tough spot with a lot
of injuries, but still losing five straight.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Not always the best.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
I think that's a big part of it. These guys
are all competitors. You know that they would not be
here if they were not. Same goes for Jordy Fernandez
as coaching staff. Everyone wants to win and you could
talk about building habits, you can talk about the things
you're continuing to do to improve, but if things change,
there's a feeling you get when you win, and so
(03:34):
I do think that's an aspect. But we have talked
about this since the preseason, Lucas, I feel like in
the start of the season, this is a tremendous group
of character guys that are on the team. The chemistry
they have with one another on and off the floor,
of the respect that they have for one another and
have for the game, and showing up the same way
each and every day. It's it's those type of habits
(03:57):
that they're creating that I think have been an example
of that's how they're going to show up. And so
I still think that, you know, the energy, the vibes,
all of that. Yeah, they're frustrated, you know, maybe they
drop the game in Utah, absolutely, but I think overall
it's it's been impressive to me the entire of the season.
I think you have some great leaders on the group.
(04:18):
That's a part of that. I think the coaching staff
is a part of that. They make sure to bring
a light and a joy and an energy with what
they're doing, regardless of circumstance. And I think the second
part of that, as you mentioned, there are injuries they're playing.
You know, they've been playing without a handful of key
key players, and so the hope you get Cam Johnson
(04:39):
back and get Dangela Russell back, you know, those that
will help fortify things. I think we've seen Zion Williams
come back and be great. Some other opportunities which I'll
know we'll get to with some players that have grabbed
that and taken advantage of that. And so there's so
many positive things to pull that despite the fact a
(05:00):
lot of these games have ended in l's there's parts
of it that you feel like, oh, that that's a win,
that's a success, that's a good thing that you're going
to now kind of tack on as building blocks, and
that's I think what they're trying to hold on to
it this point until they hopefully, you know, get their
way back into the win column.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
And that was the vibe I think during the home
losses just before they hit the road. You know, I
was there for two games that you know, they played
one game actually that they played before we last recorded
or after we last recorded, which was a home loss
against the Pistons. And yet you know, the vibes are
not very downtrodden. I think that's because you have a
(05:41):
lot of young, new fresh faces, two way players or
guys getting back from injury. So you know, if you're
looking at you might be playing a five man lineup
or at least four of re speakman two way player
Tyresse Martin, two way guy, Tosana Wolma two way Dayron
Sharp returning from injury, Sire Williams returning from injury, and
(06:02):
all of the guys I just mentioned have had really strong,
impressive moments recently, and I think.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
That keeps the vibes high.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
You know, I don't want to pick on the Detroit Pistons,
but when they lost twenty seven straight games last year,
by the way, they're having a great season this year, Yeah,
shows you how quickly.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Can turn around.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
When they lost twenty seven straight last year, it felt
very morbid because it was kind of the same players
struggling getting losses. Whereas the Nets it does genuinely feel different.
Like Jordi Fernandez is walking up to the podium after
losses and saying, well, you know what, I thought Toasa
and Owoma debuted today for us and he was great.
I thought Tyree's Martin played the most minutes he's played
(06:41):
yet and he was great. And in all these situations,
it's hard to disagree with him because we really do
see that happening. The one thing I would also like
to add is that, as you mentioned, playing in Portland
and night a lot of these injured guys. There were
ten guys out when they lost to the Pistons. Dayron
came back, Ben Simmons came back. Now we have three
(07:03):
more guys upgraded from out to questionable. So it's definitely
a situation that's trending upward. And I would say the
loss to Utah was a trend upward, even though it
wasn't l they really played a more complete game than
they've played in a little while.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
What did you see in that Utah game? And what
do you think, since.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
This episode will drop after they played Portland, that they
can take forward, you know, positives or maybe negatives at
the very end, that they can learn from. What were
your feelings leaving such a you know, a heart pounding game.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Yeah, I think when it came to Utah interesting part
and you look at some of the numbers, but the
glaring part to me is that they just shot the
ball really poorly from three and sometimes that dictates a
lot of how they're playing. It dictated the runouts to
the Jazz were able to get in. Utah similarly, is
a really hungry team and the same things we're saying
(07:56):
about these nets players of guys having an opportunity, that's
how they're approaching it. Look at Will Hardy has been
a tremendous coach for them. You mentioned those opportunities first,
starting at the end of the game, like you couldn't
have set up better shots, and you know for yourself,
Nick and he misses that happens like that's gonna happen
in games, So you're disappointed and frustrated. Yeah, but you
(08:18):
know what, that's a part of it. And it wasn't
just one play or a couple of plays at the
end of the game. There was stretches throughout and I
think it's it's for this group the focus on how
do you try and mitigate some of those stretches by
teams that you're struggling to get stops or your SHOT's
not going through, and then on the flip side of things,
(08:39):
you're not getting stops. And you know, I think overall though,
for the group that took care of the ball better,
that's been one thing that you kind of take a
look at, and again, I know, we'll get to them.
There were some big games and really solid, impressive moments
by players, Tosano Woma being one of those. But even
the I know, the numbers or the shooting numbers weren't, yeah,
(09:00):
the same as we saw the previous nights or other
times with Tyree Smartin again with a really solid Knight
Sire Williams had some really big plays at the pace
that they were playing at. There was a lot of
things to draw from that game that you liked and
you don't like the outcome, but there was parts of
it you say, Okay, these are parts that you're going
to improve upon, and then when you do it, reinsert
(09:23):
a Cam Johnson, when you do, reinsert D'Angelo Russell. Those
plays that will make a difference.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
I totally agree the Nick Claxton, you know, mislayup is
kind of emblematic of the way that they lost.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
You know, it was a tough lob.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
It was just maybe an inch behind him and it
rolls around the rim. You know, he maybe makes that
more often than he doesn't. But was there I guess
a commonality in plays down the stretch because they actually
shot better from three in the second half. I know,
they kind of dug themselves a hole and they ended
up shooting ten of forty from three against the Jazz.
(09:59):
One of those things is where you know, Noah Clowney
has had a great three point shooting season. I've written
about it a lot. He goes oh for seven. You know,
he goes three for seven, you're shooting thirty three percent.
It's a way different game that stuff happens. Do you
think there's anything with the late game execution, any commonalities
or was it really just a matter of a couple plays,
a couple of balls just don't really bounce your way.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
I think more of it was on the defensive end,
if you're going to point to anything. And again that's
where I'll circle back to Will Hardy and that Utah
coaching staff very good in those type of situations. They've
had a lot of practice at it. But there was
a couple of breakdowns that you thought the Jazz got
a good shot, or you know the the bucket by
Collier where he kind of pushed it through the defense.
(10:41):
You know, you think you off a split, you're not
getting tight enough to try and close him out, and
he gets the lit and he almost bobbled. I thought
he was about to turn the basketball over. So that's
that's what I mean, Like there's there was small plays
that you give credit to Utah about hitting some tough shots.
I think for the nets offensively the most part, in
(11:01):
if I remember they were they were creating good looks.
I don't remember that many in Lucas who probably we
watched it, so I don't recall many where it was
like that was a really disjointed offensive possession or you
know they put up a shot like that. For the
most part, I felt like they were getting looks, they
were sharing the basketball, they were working their in and
(11:22):
outs that just didn't end up going through. And you're
gonna have nights like that, and that's where kind of
circle back to what you're doing on the defensive end matters.
And even then that's going on that big you know,
they go on that big rud like they they were
able to go on a really solid run to to
push themselves back in it and put themselves in position
(11:43):
to close that out. There was a stretch in the
start of the fourth quarter or for a while that
I was like, Oh, it looks like Utah is gonna
be able to close this one out. And so that
that's where you circle back to. There's a good resiliency
and just a good level of fight, which we've seen
this whole year from this group.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Yeah, they were double digits, I believe. I know it
was at least eleven. I think it might have been
thirteen midway early in the fourth. It's funny. I was
watching the end of regulation with my grandmother ninety five.
She's ninety five years old. She does not miss a game.
Huge Nets fan trauma, Matt Kaplin. Okay, her heart couldn't
(12:21):
take the ending. She had to go and it was
like it was she had to go to bed after regulation.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
How I felt in both instances, this is past my bedtime.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Well, she said to me, I wish they just lost
by fifteen because that was more heartbreaking. And I said, okay, well,
I get where you're coming from. However, we do have
to praise the resiliency. It's better you see that than
you don't. I will say, you know, Nick Claxton said
postgame on the Isaiah Collier split, you know where the
fake handoff where he gets to the rim, he says,
(12:51):
I should have just grabbed him.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
We had a foul to give.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
And that really stuck out to me because if you
recall earlier this season, I believe either against the Memphis Grizzlies.
I'm forgetting the exact game, but I asked Jordi Fernandis
post game they didn't foul up three and he said,
I asked him, you know, is that a strategy? Do
you prefer not to foul up three? Is that sort
of a principle you have? And he said no. I
(13:14):
tell them I'd prefer to foul here, but if you
don't think you can, I like to give the players,
you know, a lot of room, a lot of leniency.
They are on the court, they can make those decisions.
And Nick Claxton, you know, not fouling him. I don't
want to assume what was said in the huddle, but
maybe it was something like, hey, foul, we have a
foul to give. If you feel comfortable doing it, but
(13:36):
you know, we don't want a foul a shooter, so
I'm giving you, you know, some room here to play with.
That's a learning experience for this team under a first
year head coach, Nick Claxton or Noah Clowney probably can
just wrap him up on the way to the basket,
preventing a you know, an easy layup. But that's a
lot of pressure to put on these guys in an
end of game situation. And you know, you're one rookie
(13:57):
head coach. That's kind of what these situations are all about.
You got to get through this end of game stuff.
But it was really you know, they executed a lot
they executed on offense. Tyrese Martin has been playing great
misses a wide open corner three, but that's a great
possession that would have changed the game.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
No complaints.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
Yeah, and that's is that stuff, Lucas, thanks for bringing
that up. It's that's up where it's like you had
the guy on the court that you want taking that
shot from the corner, set it up perfectly, that's gonna happen. Like, Yeah,
that's basketball, that's sports, that's you. You create and you
can't ask for much more than that, and so that's
where I was like, this is that's the good stuff.
(14:36):
And despite the fact you're not coming up with points
or ultimately coming up with a win, you're still same
thing with the Claxon look like that was that play
would beautifully run and executed. Yeah, and a great call
there down the end. So those are the things you, Yeah,
you put in your notebook and you learn from it
and then the next time you hope that experience and
(14:57):
will benefit you.
Speaker 4 (15:02):
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(15:22):
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Speaker 1 (15:31):
We can definitely start you know, we're starting more general
and we'll get to more specific players. But despite the
five game losing streak, there are these long term trends
that I'm really I think are indicative of progress. And
you know, the maybe Claxton execute or Noah didn't give
the fault the end of the game, but overall they
are really improving on general principles under Jordi Fernandez in
(15:53):
his first year as a head coach. You know, we
think back to the beginning of the year when they
had a foul problem and they were putting guys at
the free throw line all the time, kind of struggling
to be you know, physical without fouling. Well, they're creeping
up right around league average now through the whole season
in terms of free throw rate allowed. Since the new year,
(16:14):
they're in the top half of the league. You know,
despite the losing streak. They're also per cleaning the glasses
at least exactly fifteenth is so exactly league average in
defensive rebounding, which is a huge step up from where
they were in the beginning of the season.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
So I think the.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Physicality and their presence on defense is starting to be
felt and it's way closer to what I think Jordy
Fernandez would want.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
Whereas maybe you know.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Some of the execution, some of the X outs there
or rotations here. But I think to me, at least
watching from home on this road trip, they're bringing like
a level of physicality, grit. You know, these sound like cliches,
but the energy when you're watching, to me seems palpable
and you know, anything but a cliche.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
I yeah, you said it, and I agree, and I
couldn't agree more. And I think that's the point of
a consistency and a style of play. You see that
and you're going to understand it. In the premium press
conference at Utah just the last game, Will Hardy was
talking about what he's seen out of this group, out
of this Brooklyn Nets group, and as you could imagine,
(17:23):
these like has been hard. You know, somebody change a
personnelit change the lineup, so it's hard to distinguish a
lot of things. Basically, the one thing that always stands
out to me is how organized they looked on both
ends of the floor. And I would add the physicality
that you've now seen consistently, But I had talked about this.
I think I was talking about it in a broadcast
a bunch early on with Iron saying it is you
(17:46):
cannot overstate how impressive it is that you've got different
players in and out, different looks of a lineup, and
everyone always seems to know where to be and what
to do and what their role is. And that's a
credits the coaching staff and Jordy Fernandez, So that's the
credit to the players. That's a credit to the players
on the floor off the floor that you constantly, constantly
see talking. There's an engagement in an understanding of what
(18:10):
is being asked of them, and with all the changes
that have taken place, you don't always see that in
teams that have consistent lineups or consistent looks of players.
With this group, I think that is such a credit
to all involved. Is something that they should be really
(18:31):
really proud of that that's recognized as one of the
tenets of oh, this is what this group is.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
And I'm really excited to see that right now, you know,
a few hours before they play Portland. I'm excited to
revisit this game next week because we'll see the opportunity
for a bounce back and we'll see, you know, Nick
Claxton questionable, Cam Johnson and d Low questionable. You get
two or all three of those guys playing, now you
(18:59):
have a little bit more talent, a little more bodies
to work with, you know, proven offensive talent within these schemes.
So I can't wait to see how they respond over
the next few days.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
And the other thing about the guys.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Executing those principles is that it is the two way
guys and we'll start to talk about more specific guys.
But like that bench unit they have rocking right now
is feisty, it's imperfect. You know, it's guys that are
recently joined the team, rookie sophomores. Right now, it's re
Speakman who they just acquired and is a rookie, so
(19:34):
he's probably doubly going through it in terms of a
learning adjustment.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
That can't be easy.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Tyrese Martin, tosan a Woma who you know, sophomore now
on his third pro team but really impressing, Dayron Sharp
and Jalen Wilson, and those are five guys that are
gonna bring it. And that's that bench heavy unit. Cut
a twenty two point deficit in Enver where it's tough
(20:01):
to play, tough to travel to yeah to five in
the fourth quarter, and in the beginning of the fourth
quarter against Utah, they didn't you know, play as well,
but you can see it, you can see what's there.
So I just want to ask what's impressed you about
the ability of all.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
These young guys.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
You can mention specific you know players if you want to,
but how they're able to conjure up like an offense
and able to cut into these leads despite you really
wouldn't think they'd be able to, just given how the
deck is stacked against these guys.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
It's a belief that they have in each other and
in their own play, in the collective play. And again,
I think a lot of that too is the coaching
staff and just what they instill, like they Jordi Fernandez
has said this often when asked about players being out,
and I'm going to not correctly rephrase it, but it's essentially,
(20:57):
if if I'm putting Hyrie Smart in, for example, for somewhat,
he should believe that he should be playing. He should
believe that those minutes are his, he should own. You know,
why else, why else are you doing this? If you
think that you can't come in and take these opportunities
and still compete in a way that others can. I
(21:19):
think you see that attitude and these players, they all
believe that they deserve to be in this league. They
all believe that they deserve I NBA minutes, and they
all are are very unselfish in their attitude of doing
it together because they understand that everyone's going to lift
each other up if you're playing the right way. And
so again, circling back credit to them picking up concepts
(21:43):
and paying close to whether it's film study, whether it's
you know, during the limited times of shooting practice, studying
on their own, making sure they know what's what's needed
from them on built ends of the floor. But I
just think more than anything, like you could feel it,
you could see it, and I said this earlier, but
you could see the bench and whether it's players you know,
(22:03):
play in, whether it's some of those that are injured.
They're constantly talking to their teammates. Boya and Magdanovich is
a guy, for example, who has not played yet, been
around the league forever, has found a ton of success.
Timeouts are called, you see him whether it's talking to
guys or having communicating. I mean, obviously Cam Johnson, you
see that all the time with him being out. D
(22:24):
Angelo Russell. I can go down the list, but there
is there is a collectivity of this group that they
want to see their teammates succeed. They will compete their
behinds off against one another win needed. But whoever the
five are on the floor, they want to see those
guys succeed. And I think that translates in a very
real way.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
And it makes you know, it makes the losses a little,
you know, way more palatable than they otherwise have a
right to be in terms of I think the viewing experience,
it's it is a lot easier to watch a team
that fights hard and maybe miss shots or whatever the
case may be than the reverse.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
And I think this team.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Regardless of who's on the floor, it really is the
whole organization. From like the beginning of the year to now,
I think there have been twenty four different players to
take the court, which is just a staggering number, and
they've all thought and that that's made it a joy
to watch that, you know, more than it should be
for a five game losing streak. So I ask you,
(23:28):
is it fair to say that Tyrese Martin is you're
the recipient of the Sarah Coustock Brooklyn's Finest Award of
the Week. As we move into given out awards.
Speaker 3 (23:39):
I have a tie. As a tie, I think it's
the t T Tyrese and Tussan. I think both those
guys have been extremely impressive and it showed up in
different ways. From tyrees Martin right, you can see it
(24:00):
just him being around, but he does the right things.
He knows where to be. He's got a level of
poise and composure regardless of what's happening on the floor
that I think is really important. And I think his
growth and evolution around his role of what's being asked
of him, and it's stuff that it's not out of
(24:20):
the character of who he is as a basketball player,
but the fact that in lots of way he's initiating
the offense and playing point and how.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
I didn't know he could do all that.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
I didn't know he could do all that, and how
much he's balanced. You see it like we know it
could shoot, we know he could score. But I think
to even the comfort level he's had when he gets
in the paint, doesn't get sped up some of those
extra euro steps or moves or counter moves depending on
what the defense is do. He just he seems so
comfortable out there. And to add in, I think in
(24:53):
the defensive side of the ball, like right place, right angles,
all of that. But I added in tos On too
because the fact that he has just come with the
team and he's made some big time plays. I think
he does little things a lot of those qualities of
being just composed and confident, and now he shows up
(25:13):
on the floor. I think has been a great value
for this group and has been a lot of fun
to kind of see what he's already grown into and
you know, just kind of the potential of what he
may have in this league.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Yeah, and they're they're two different players, and they're two
very like fun evaluations for us because we're getting to
know these guys were really you know, we didn't know
a lot if anything about them before the season, and
so this is really our first impression of them. And
when you're looking at Tyrese Martin, it's okay, this is
(25:49):
probably like an off guard wing sort of player, you know,
has to shoot the three ball. But like I mentioned,
I really didn't know he had this level of craft
and decision making once he gets in the puding word, Yeah,
some of these kickout passes that he's thrown with like
his left hand and his right hand when he's in
the air finding you know, three point shooters in the corner.
(26:11):
He had the allube to Nick that was just off
for the wind. But right before that he drove the
lane and had a dump off pass for a made
basket from Nick at the last second when they were
down one hundred and ninety four. It cut it to
one hundred ninety six. And it's just he gets by
his man or he attacks his man. But I didn't
(26:31):
really know he could read the next level of defense
like this, and so that's been really inspiring to see
and you think, okay, maybe when guys returned from injury
and he comes back and he's not handling the ball
as much, that's a pretty projectable skill. Like if he
has to attack closeouts, he can create, you know, really
high level offense. It's funny how you think about a
(26:53):
guy like when Royce O'Neil was here, how many good
passes he'd make when a guy.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
Would fly by him off closeouts.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
Tyree s Martin reminds me a little bit of that,
but maybe might be in a you know, a better finisher.
So I'm really excited about his offense.
Speaker 3 (27:09):
And I was just going to say that in speaking
of and I think because I didn't realize this having
watched him before, until we get he's pretty bit like
he's six six, he's two fifteen or so two twenty.
Like he's got a good frame, he's got good size.
Sometimes when you watch how he moves round, how he
is on the court, I feel like there's a couple
extra inches maybe I hadn't given them. And that's where
(27:31):
you see to your point about him finishing or shots
he gets off on.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
That matters, Yeah, just like functionally athletic, you know, in
a way where he can jump from outside the restricted area,
like raise up to finish at the rim and then
have enough left to Okay, let me fire a kickout pass.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
Okay, let me dump it off.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
Like that's not something you see a lot from two
way guys that or maybe not primary initiators, you know.
I think that's what they would struggle with. But he's
actually impressing with that. So I'm really excited for him
to get more minutes. And then with tos On, he
was my Brooklyn's finest. You know, how could he not
be so seamless transition there? He just kind of like
(28:13):
does anything And I mean that in an extremely positive
way because again, young guy doesn't have a ton of.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
NBA experienced new team.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
You notice him on like every possession, you just notice him.
He's just doing something, which is, in my opinion, pretty
rare for guy in his position, don't you think?
Speaker 3 (28:32):
Great description, Great description.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
He and again functionally athletic, like when he closes out.
I mentioned this last week. He's big, he's kind of overwhelming,
and normally with guys I think, you know, trying to
make an NBA roster or an NBA rotation, you know,
cement themselves. You look, Okay, what does this guy do
at an NBA level? Like what is his one skill
(28:56):
that's going to keep him on the court, and then
what's everything? You know, is the rest of his game
up to snuff? To Son's a little different because it's
like he might just do a lot of stuff pretty well,
Like he might be able to bang down low and
close out on the perimeter and handle the ball in
transition and shoot. You know, his career thirty six point
(29:17):
three percent from three across G League and MBA, and
he's finishing at the rim and he's got a little
floater game. He kind of just does everything, And like
the play where he made the go ahead free throws
in Utah, they were down one with ten seconds left,
he fakes a dribble handoff and gets to the rim.
I don't know a lot of two way guys playing
(29:38):
their fifth career game with a team that would have
the guts to do that in the most important possession
of the game.
Speaker 3 (29:45):
Big time play. In On top of that, I think
leading up to those free throws, he was four to
seven from the line or something like that. Like, he's
not like he had he'd been a line a good amount,
but it's not like he I think for most of
his trips to the lie he has split most of
those attempts, And so knocking down like that was another
(30:08):
great that play alone. But then in that moment knocking
down both those free throws, I feel like you see
he's hit some other big shots in very timely moments.
That stuff is impressive. Again, on top of the fact
that he's on a new team right and he's trying
to really create his space here in the league, Jordy.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
This system could be really nice for him. He is
the all time single season record holder for assists in
a year at Princeton his senior year. He took them
to the tournament as like true point forward handling the ball.
So I kind of that Utah game a click for me.
It's like, oh, this is a guy fake handoffs, split
action at the top of the key, you know, hitting cutters,
(30:50):
stuff like that. Just a matchup problem on both ends
of the court. Big enough, you know, to hang with
the big guys and bully small guys, and quick enough.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
You know.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
He drove right around Kyle phil Lapowski a couple times
in the first half to get.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
All the way to the rim. I'm just a fan.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
He just does something on every possession that I'm like, oh,
let me, let me write that down, so that that's
pretty Nets have two pretty unique two way guys. And
then shout out Reese Beakman, who's been a part a
lot of these units. A question with him, as we
know he can guard. He's hit two huge catch and
shoot threes. He cut it to five in Denver and
then he had one against Utah. I forget in the
(31:27):
second half. But all these guys making their case to
play even as the Nets get healthy and you have
now a lot of candidates to choose from. Maybe some
guys coming back. You know, Ben Simmons came back from
a brief injury absence and had a strong game in Utah.
Who is your next net who who do you want
to see this next week? Maybe have some questions, maybe
(31:49):
are excited about Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
That's my answer. He's yeah, absolutely, that's my answer.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
Yeah, I I I should pick him. But you know,
I'm going to a little bit because obviously I'm excited
to watch Toast on play. I just have, you know,
a few questions or a few moments of intrigue with
Jalen Wilson. The shooting hasn't quite been there from three
as much as it was in the early season, So
I just want to know, you know, what is he
(32:17):
doing to affect the game. Otherwise, He's had a couple
possessions with some strong takes to the rim. He's had
a couple turnovers. You know, He's had flashes on defense.
Other times he's gone being off the dribble. So I'm
really curious in this next week and the rest of
the season to see what his b skill is or
what keeps him on the court when he isn't on
(32:37):
fire from three as he was to start the year.
You know, do you have any prediction as to what
that skill might be, what you might want to see
from him.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
I just think in general, it's not even necessarily a skill,
like just keep doing the little things defense, like what
you're doing on the defensive end, rebounding, cutting, hard, taking
open shots, be who you are, and I think that's challenge.
There was so much on him early on in the
season with how he was shooting, but just playing really well,
(33:06):
the fit, the winds, all of that stuff. He's still
in his second year and you're gonna have ups and downs,
you're gonna go through moments. But from him, I just
want to see his confidence level remain as high as
it was in what it is, keep learning, keep improving.
But more so it's just it's all those other all
those other areas of keep doing that type of work
(33:26):
and the shot will eventually fall, and the shot is there.
He can shoot, but making sure it's not affecting the
other areas on.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
The floor completely and he'd be, you know, having more
cuts to the rim, which we know he can do.
If the Nets had some of their primary ball handlers healthy,
his looks from three would be probably a little cleaner.
It's not the best environment for him right now, you know,
compared to what it was in the beginning of the season.
But absolutely, you know, pressure makes diamonds. So I'm excited
(33:53):
to see like these guys all navigate situations.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
That's when you really learn about players.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
Yeah, and I have extreme faith and Jalen Wilson aka
the Light Skin Tom Brady to get it done. I
don't know if you saw what nets Twitter posted, but
it was pretty funny. And with that we will move
to trivia. Sarah has to go to port go to
the arena. You know, I'm sitting in my.
Speaker 3 (34:19):
Bedroom, but I do, I do. I just can't be
by day at Hire unless I'm just talking.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
Sarah's got to go to real grown up work, So
I will just ask.
Speaker 2 (34:29):
We talked about a losing streak a few times.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
Well, and on a positive note, what do you think
the longest winning streak is in NETS franchise history?
Speaker 2 (34:36):
And bonus bonus for when fourteen? Very very good guest, though.
Speaker 1 (34:42):
It happened twice in New Jersey, most recent time two
thousand and five, two thousand and six, led by the
man behind me, Vince Carter.
Speaker 2 (34:51):
Yeah, why you feel.
Speaker 3 (34:53):
You feel like I felt like it was no, I
don't I trust you with my whole heart. For some reason,
I felt like talking about that before, maybe with Vince,
and I thought it was fifteen, and there was maybe
my my the number was just playing in my mind.
But yeah, fourteen, we're right there. Though, we're right there.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
Yeah, well, you know, perhaps it's uh, perhaps it's a
it ended April eighth.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
Yeah, this is going to be the start of a
fish like game win streak.
Speaker 3 (35:22):
Like yeah, yeah, I don't count that, but I do.
I I appreciate. I mean, I'm with you. Although we
can be impressive, but sometimes when people really count that,
like over the season, stead it feels a little.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
I don't like that, you know, preseason, postseason. Anyway, it's fourteen,
you know, that's we'll get back to that soon and
shout out.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
Vince Carter, who was a big you know, leading score
on the about that time.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
January twenty fifth, against the Heat, get your tickets. And
until then, we have this episode. We have another episode
coming out, you know, next week. Before that, I'm sure
we'll talk about Vince a little more. This has been
episode twelve of The Backcourt, a Brooklyn s podcast presented
to you by take your master. Thank you guys so
much for listening. Rate subscribe like the video however you're
(36:13):
listening or watching to us, listen and I really appreciate it.
Of course, what else would you rate it? You guys
have a good have a good week. We will see
you next Wednesday. Thanks for listening.
You are now in the backcourt, a Brooklyn Nets podcast
presented by Ticketmaster, and we are just flying through the season.
This is the twelfth episode we recorded. And when I
say we, I mean me Lucas Kaplan of NETS Film
Focus and a writer covering the team for NETS Daily,
And alongside me as always is Sarah Coustack, who's actually
with the team as they are on a west coast
(00:29):
a long west coast road trip, stopping in the middle
of the country too.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Sarah, how are we doing?
Speaker 3 (00:34):
We're doing good. We are. We're in the midst of things.
So I'm rolling along here and getting set for which
I know this will drop after getting set for game
tonight in Portland. So it's been it's been fun so far.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeap.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
It's the third on the road of sixth straight on
the road. The Nets kind of doing this looping bit
across the country. They start in Denver, then Utah, then
three games right on the West coast, then they come
back to Okay see on their way back to Brooklyn,
which makes six games. Sarah, are you still doing? You
running every day? Are you running in the elevation when
(01:11):
you get to Denver?
Speaker 2 (01:13):
How is that on the line?
Speaker 3 (01:14):
These are good. They make them strong. These are some
of my favorite running cities, good yoga spots. Yeah, it's
also been I love hot weather. We don't need to
talk about this for too long, but I mean, who
has loved being in Miami Orlando of course, places that
it's been perfect. And I feel like in Utah and Denver.
(01:36):
Here in Portland has been like about forty high thirties
forty and sometimes I like when it's a little bit
of a chill, it feels good, good for the muscles,
good to get the blood flowing. So yeah, it's been.
It's been. That part has been fantastic, I'll give you
that much.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
So yeah, and then you can relate to the players
when they're in Denver in Utah playing in elevation, you
have sort of a first.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Time I'm absolutely running that hard and fast.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Of course, and jumping that high as.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
We all know, as some people ask him, like, you
do know I'm not running that fast awhere off where
you feel the effects. But yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
They're showing they're showing your highlights every game now on
Yes Network.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
It's about it's like a recurring feature.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
It's been coming a little bit much. I don't know.
I feel like they found him and then they just
anytime someone tees them up. But yeah, if that needs
that needs a rip kind of soon.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Yeah, they're going to the well a lot. It's okay though,
we h, we won't bring that up. This is a
podcast audio format though, you know, if we're what if
you're watching on YouTube. No highlights this time. Uh to
get back to the nets though. They are currently on
a season high five game losing streak. Now they're on
the road, as we mentioned, They're going to play Portland
(02:47):
tonight as we record, and it's an opportunity for a
big bounce back because of those five losses. Really, their
best opportunity for a win came in Utah, came down
to the last second twice in regulation and in overtime.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
So I'm just curious.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Let's start, you know, with the first person perspective, Sarah,
what is the vibe around the team?
Speaker 2 (03:07):
How's it going?
Speaker 1 (03:08):
You know, they're in a tough spot with a lot
of injuries, but still losing five straight.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Not always the best.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
I think that's a big part of it. These guys
are all competitors. You know that they would not be
here if they were not. Same goes for Jordy Fernandez
as coaching staff. Everyone wants to win and you could
talk about building habits, you can talk about the things
you're continuing to do to improve, but if things change,
there's a feeling you get when you win, and so
(03:34):
I do think that's an aspect. But we have talked
about this since the preseason, Lucas, I feel like in
the start of the season, this is a tremendous group
of character guys that are on the team. The chemistry
they have with one another on and off the floor,
of the respect that they have for one another and
have for the game, and showing up the same way
each and every day. It's it's those type of habits
(03:57):
that they're creating that I think have been an example
of that's how they're going to show up. And so
I still think that, you know, the energy, the vibes,
all of that. Yeah, they're frustrated, you know, maybe they
drop the game in Utah, absolutely, but I think overall
it's it's been impressive to me the entire of the season.
I think you have some great leaders on the group.
(04:18):
That's a part of that. I think the coaching staff
is a part of that. They make sure to bring
a light and a joy and an energy with what
they're doing, regardless of circumstance. And I think the second
part of that, as you mentioned, there are injuries they're playing.
You know, they've been playing without a handful of key
key players, and so the hope you get Cam Johnson
(04:39):
back and get Dangela Russell back, you know, those that
will help fortify things. I think we've seen Zion Williams
come back and be great. Some other opportunities which I'll
know we'll get to with some players that have grabbed
that and taken advantage of that. And so there's so
many positive things to pull that despite the fact a
(05:00):
lot of these games have ended in l's there's parts
of it that you feel like, oh, that that's a win,
that's a success, that's a good thing that you're going
to now kind of tack on as building blocks, and
that's I think what they're trying to hold on to
it this point until they hopefully, you know, get their
way back into the win column.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
And that was the vibe I think during the home
losses just before they hit the road. You know, I
was there for two games that you know, they played
one game actually that they played before we last recorded
or after we last recorded, which was a home loss
against the Pistons. And yet you know, the vibes are
not very downtrodden. I think that's because you have a
(05:41):
lot of young, new fresh faces, two way players or
guys getting back from injury. So you know, if you're
looking at you might be playing a five man lineup
or at least four of re speakman two way player
Tyresse Martin, two way guy, Tosana Wolma two way Dayron
Sharp returning from injury, Sire Williams returning from injury, and
(06:02):
all of the guys I just mentioned have had really strong,
impressive moments recently, and I think.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
That keeps the vibes high.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
You know, I don't want to pick on the Detroit Pistons,
but when they lost twenty seven straight games last year,
by the way, they're having a great season this year, Yeah,
shows you how quickly.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Can turn around.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
When they lost twenty seven straight last year, it felt
very morbid because it was kind of the same players
struggling getting losses. Whereas the Nets it does genuinely feel different.
Like Jordi Fernandez is walking up to the podium after
losses and saying, well, you know what, I thought Toasa
and Owoma debuted today for us and he was great.
I thought Tyree's Martin played the most minutes he's played
(06:41):
yet and he was great. And in all these situations,
it's hard to disagree with him because we really do
see that happening. The one thing I would also like
to add is that, as you mentioned, playing in Portland
and night a lot of these injured guys. There were
ten guys out when they lost to the Pistons. Dayron
came back, Ben Simmons came back. Now we have three
(07:03):
more guys upgraded from out to questionable. So it's definitely
a situation that's trending upward. And I would say the
loss to Utah was a trend upward, even though it
wasn't l they really played a more complete game than
they've played in a little while.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
What did you see in that Utah game? And what
do you think, since.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
This episode will drop after they played Portland, that they
can take forward, you know, positives or maybe negatives at
the very end, that they can learn from. What were
your feelings leaving such a you know, a heart pounding game.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Yeah, I think when it came to Utah interesting part
and you look at some of the numbers, but the
glaring part to me is that they just shot the
ball really poorly from three and sometimes that dictates a
lot of how they're playing. It dictated the runouts to
the Jazz were able to get in. Utah similarly, is
a really hungry team and the same things we're saying
(07:56):
about these nets players of guys having an opportunity, that's
how they're approaching it. Look at Will Hardy has been
a tremendous coach for them. You mentioned those opportunities first,
starting at the end of the game, like you couldn't
have set up better shots, and you know for yourself,
Nick and he misses that happens like that's gonna happen
in games, So you're disappointed and frustrated. Yeah, but you
(08:18):
know what, that's a part of it. And it wasn't
just one play or a couple of plays at the
end of the game. There was stretches throughout and I
think it's it's for this group the focus on how
do you try and mitigate some of those stretches by
teams that you're struggling to get stops or your SHOT's
not going through, and then on the flip side of things,
(08:39):
you're not getting stops. And you know, I think overall though,
for the group that took care of the ball better,
that's been one thing that you kind of take a
look at, and again, I know, we'll get to them.
There were some big games and really solid, impressive moments
by players, Tosano Woma being one of those. But even
the I know, the numbers or the shooting numbers weren't, yeah,
(09:00):
the same as we saw the previous nights or other
times with Tyree Smartin again with a really solid Knight
Sire Williams had some really big plays at the pace
that they were playing at. There was a lot of
things to draw from that game that you liked and
you don't like the outcome, but there was parts of
it you say, Okay, these are parts that you're going
to improve upon, and then when you do it, reinsert
(09:23):
a Cam Johnson, when you do, reinsert D'Angelo Russell. Those
plays that will make a difference.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
I totally agree the Nick Claxton, you know, mislayup is
kind of emblematic of the way that they lost.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
You know, it was a tough lob.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
It was just maybe an inch behind him and it
rolls around the rim. You know, he maybe makes that
more often than he doesn't. But was there I guess
a commonality in plays down the stretch because they actually
shot better from three in the second half. I know,
they kind of dug themselves a hole and they ended
up shooting ten of forty from three against the Jazz.
(09:59):
One of those things is where you know, Noah Clowney
has had a great three point shooting season. I've written
about it a lot. He goes oh for seven. You know,
he goes three for seven, you're shooting thirty three percent.
It's a way different game that stuff happens. Do you
think there's anything with the late game execution, any commonalities
or was it really just a matter of a couple plays,
a couple of balls just don't really bounce your way.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
I think more of it was on the defensive end,
if you're going to point to anything. And again that's
where I'll circle back to Will Hardy and that Utah
coaching staff very good in those type of situations. They've
had a lot of practice at it. But there was
a couple of breakdowns that you thought the Jazz got
a good shot, or you know the the bucket by
Collier where he kind of pushed it through the defense.
(10:41):
You know, you think you off a split, you're not
getting tight enough to try and close him out, and
he gets the lit and he almost bobbled. I thought
he was about to turn the basketball over. So that's
that's what I mean, Like there's there was small plays
that you give credit to Utah about hitting some tough shots.
I think for the nets offensively the most part, in
(11:01):
if I remember they were they were creating good looks.
I don't remember that many in Lucas who probably we
watched it, so I don't recall many where it was
like that was a really disjointed offensive possession or you
know they put up a shot like that. For the
most part, I felt like they were getting looks, they
were sharing the basketball, they were working their in and
(11:22):
outs that just didn't end up going through. And you're
gonna have nights like that, and that's where kind of
circle back to what you're doing on the defensive end matters.
And even then that's going on that big you know,
they go on that big rud like they they were
able to go on a really solid run to to
push themselves back in it and put themselves in position
(11:43):
to close that out. There was a stretch in the
start of the fourth quarter or for a while that
I was like, Oh, it looks like Utah is gonna
be able to close this one out. And so that
that's where you circle back to. There's a good resiliency
and just a good level of fight, which we've seen
this whole year from this group.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Yeah, they were double digits, I believe. I know it
was at least eleven. I think it might have been
thirteen midway early in the fourth. It's funny. I was
watching the end of regulation with my grandmother ninety five.
She's ninety five years old. She does not miss a game.
Huge Nets fan trauma, Matt Kaplin. Okay, her heart couldn't
(12:21):
take the ending. She had to go and it was
like it was she had to go to bed after regulation.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
How I felt in both instances, this is past my bedtime.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Well, she said to me, I wish they just lost
by fifteen because that was more heartbreaking. And I said, okay, well,
I get where you're coming from. However, we do have
to praise the resiliency. It's better you see that than
you don't. I will say, you know, Nick Claxton said
postgame on the Isaiah Collier split, you know where the
fake handoff where he gets to the rim, he says,
(12:51):
I should have just grabbed him.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
We had a foul to give.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
And that really stuck out to me because if you
recall earlier this season, I believe either against the Memphis Grizzlies.
I'm forgetting the exact game, but I asked Jordi Fernandis
post game they didn't foul up three and he said,
I asked him, you know, is that a strategy? Do
you prefer not to foul up three? Is that sort
of a principle you have? And he said no. I
(13:14):
tell them I'd prefer to foul here, but if you
don't think you can, I like to give the players,
you know, a lot of room, a lot of leniency.
They are on the court, they can make those decisions.
And Nick Claxton, you know, not fouling him. I don't
want to assume what was said in the huddle, but
maybe it was something like, hey, foul, we have a
foul to give. If you feel comfortable doing it, but
(13:36):
you know, we don't want a foul a shooter, so
I'm giving you, you know, some room here to play with.
That's a learning experience for this team under a first
year head coach, Nick Claxton or Noah Clowney probably can
just wrap him up on the way to the basket,
preventing a you know, an easy layup. But that's a
lot of pressure to put on these guys in an
end of game situation. And you know, you're one rookie
(13:57):
head coach. That's kind of what these situations are all about.
You got to get through this end of game stuff.
But it was really you know, they executed a lot
they executed on offense. Tyrese Martin has been playing great
misses a wide open corner three, but that's a great
possession that would have changed the game.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
No complaints.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
Yeah, and that's is that stuff, Lucas, thanks for bringing
that up. It's that's up where it's like you had
the guy on the court that you want taking that
shot from the corner, set it up perfectly, that's gonna happen. Like, Yeah,
that's basketball, that's sports, that's you. You create and you
can't ask for much more than that, and so that's
where I was like, this is that's the good stuff.
(14:36):
And despite the fact you're not coming up with points
or ultimately coming up with a win, you're still same
thing with the Claxon look like that was that play
would beautifully run and executed. Yeah, and a great call
there down the end. So those are the things you, Yeah,
you put in your notebook and you learn from it
and then the next time you hope that experience and
(14:57):
will benefit you.
Speaker 4 (15:02):
Hey that fans, dunks, dimes and no looks are great
on TV, but nothing compares to catching them irl, And
that starts with buying tickets. A Ticketmaster, the official ticket
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(15:22):
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your courtside, Brooklyn.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
We can definitely start you know, we're starting more general
and we'll get to more specific players. But despite the
five game losing streak, there are these long term trends
that I'm really I think are indicative of progress. And
you know, the maybe Claxton execute or Noah didn't give
the fault the end of the game, but overall they
are really improving on general principles under Jordi Fernandez in
(15:53):
his first year as a head coach. You know, we
think back to the beginning of the year when they
had a foul problem and they were putting guys at
the free throw line all the time, kind of struggling
to be you know, physical without fouling. Well, they're creeping
up right around league average now through the whole season
in terms of free throw rate allowed. Since the new year,
(16:14):
they're in the top half of the league. You know,
despite the losing streak. They're also per cleaning the glasses
at least exactly fifteenth is so exactly league average in
defensive rebounding, which is a huge step up from where
they were in the beginning of the season.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
So I think the.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Physicality and their presence on defense is starting to be
felt and it's way closer to what I think Jordy
Fernandez would want.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
Whereas maybe you know.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Some of the execution, some of the X outs there
or rotations here. But I think to me, at least
watching from home on this road trip, they're bringing like
a level of physicality, grit. You know, these sound like cliches,
but the energy when you're watching, to me seems palpable
and you know, anything but a cliche.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
I yeah, you said it, and I agree, and I
couldn't agree more. And I think that's the point of
a consistency and a style of play. You see that
and you're going to understand it. In the premium press
conference at Utah just the last game, Will Hardy was
talking about what he's seen out of this group, out
of this Brooklyn Nets group, and as you could imagine,
(17:23):
these like has been hard. You know, somebody change a
personnelit change the lineup, so it's hard to distinguish a
lot of things. Basically, the one thing that always stands
out to me is how organized they looked on both
ends of the floor. And I would add the physicality
that you've now seen consistently, But I had talked about this.
I think I was talking about it in a broadcast
a bunch early on with Iron saying it is you
(17:46):
cannot overstate how impressive it is that you've got different
players in and out, different looks of a lineup, and
everyone always seems to know where to be and what
to do and what their role is. And that's a
credits the coaching staff and Jordy Fernandez, So that's the
credit to the players. That's a credit to the players
on the floor off the floor that you constantly, constantly
see talking. There's an engagement in an understanding of what
(18:10):
is being asked of them, and with all the changes
that have taken place, you don't always see that in
teams that have consistent lineups or consistent looks of players.
With this group, I think that is such a credit
to all involved. Is something that they should be really
(18:31):
really proud of that that's recognized as one of the
tenets of oh, this is what this group is.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
And I'm really excited to see that right now, you know,
a few hours before they play Portland. I'm excited to
revisit this game next week because we'll see the opportunity
for a bounce back and we'll see, you know, Nick
Claxton questionable, Cam Johnson and d Low questionable. You get
two or all three of those guys playing, now you
(18:59):
have a little bit more talent, a little more bodies
to work with, you know, proven offensive talent within these schemes.
So I can't wait to see how they respond over
the next few days.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
And the other thing about the guys.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Executing those principles is that it is the two way
guys and we'll start to talk about more specific guys.
But like that bench unit they have rocking right now
is feisty, it's imperfect. You know, it's guys that are
recently joined the team, rookie sophomores. Right now, it's re
Speakman who they just acquired and is a rookie, so
(19:34):
he's probably doubly going through it in terms of a
learning adjustment.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
That can't be easy.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Tyrese Martin, tosan a Woma who you know, sophomore now
on his third pro team but really impressing, Dayron Sharp
and Jalen Wilson, and those are five guys that are
gonna bring it. And that's that bench heavy unit. Cut
a twenty two point deficit in Enver where it's tough
(20:01):
to play, tough to travel to yeah to five in
the fourth quarter, and in the beginning of the fourth
quarter against Utah, they didn't you know, play as well,
but you can see it, you can see what's there.
So I just want to ask what's impressed you about
the ability of all.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
These young guys.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
You can mention specific you know players if you want to,
but how they're able to conjure up like an offense
and able to cut into these leads despite you really
wouldn't think they'd be able to, just given how the
deck is stacked against these guys.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
It's a belief that they have in each other and
in their own play, in the collective play. And again,
I think a lot of that too is the coaching
staff and just what they instill, like they Jordi Fernandez
has said this often when asked about players being out,
and I'm going to not correctly rephrase it, but it's essentially,
(20:57):
if if I'm putting Hyrie Smart in, for example, for somewhat,
he should believe that he should be playing. He should
believe that those minutes are his, he should own. You know,
why else, why else are you doing this? If you
think that you can't come in and take these opportunities
and still compete in a way that others can. I
(21:19):
think you see that attitude and these players, they all
believe that they deserve to be in this league. They
all believe that they deserve I NBA minutes, and they
all are are very unselfish in their attitude of doing
it together because they understand that everyone's going to lift
each other up if you're playing the right way. And
so again, circling back credit to them picking up concepts
(21:43):
and paying close to whether it's film study, whether it's
you know, during the limited times of shooting practice, studying
on their own, making sure they know what's what's needed
from them on built ends of the floor. But I
just think more than anything, like you could feel it,
you could see it, and I said this earlier, but
you could see the bench and whether it's players you know,
(22:03):
play in, whether it's some of those that are injured.
They're constantly talking to their teammates. Boya and Magdanovich is
a guy, for example, who has not played yet, been
around the league forever, has found a ton of success.
Timeouts are called, you see him whether it's talking to
guys or having communicating. I mean, obviously Cam Johnson, you
see that all the time with him being out. D
(22:24):
Angelo Russell. I can go down the list, but there
is there is a collectivity of this group that they
want to see their teammates succeed. They will compete their
behinds off against one another win needed. But whoever the
five are on the floor, they want to see those
guys succeed. And I think that translates in a very
real way.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
And it makes you know, it makes the losses a little,
you know, way more palatable than they otherwise have a
right to be in terms of I think the viewing experience,
it's it is a lot easier to watch a team
that fights hard and maybe miss shots or whatever the
case may be than the reverse.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
And I think this team.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Regardless of who's on the floor, it really is the
whole organization. From like the beginning of the year to now,
I think there have been twenty four different players to
take the court, which is just a staggering number, and
they've all thought and that that's made it a joy
to watch that, you know, more than it should be
for a five game losing streak. So I ask you,
(23:28):
is it fair to say that Tyrese Martin is you're
the recipient of the Sarah Coustock Brooklyn's Finest Award of
the Week. As we move into given out awards.
Speaker 3 (23:39):
I have a tie. As a tie, I think it's
the t T Tyrese and Tussan. I think both those
guys have been extremely impressive and it showed up in
different ways. From tyrees Martin right, you can see it
(24:00):
just him being around, but he does the right things.
He knows where to be. He's got a level of
poise and composure regardless of what's happening on the floor
that I think is really important. And I think his
growth and evolution around his role of what's being asked
of him, and it's stuff that it's not out of
(24:20):
the character of who he is as a basketball player,
but the fact that in lots of way he's initiating
the offense and playing point and how.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
I didn't know he could do all that.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
I didn't know he could do all that, and how
much he's balanced. You see it like we know it
could shoot, we know he could score. But I think
to even the comfort level he's had when he gets
in the paint, doesn't get sped up some of those
extra euro steps or moves or counter moves depending on
what the defense is do. He just he seems so
comfortable out there. And to add in, I think in
(24:53):
the defensive side of the ball, like right place, right angles,
all of that. But I added in tos On too
because the fact that he has just come with the
team and he's made some big time plays. I think
he does little things a lot of those qualities of
being just composed and confident, and now he shows up
(25:13):
on the floor. I think has been a great value
for this group and has been a lot of fun
to kind of see what he's already grown into and
you know, just kind of the potential of what he
may have in this league.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Yeah, and they're they're two different players, and they're two
very like fun evaluations for us because we're getting to
know these guys were really you know, we didn't know
a lot if anything about them before the season, and
so this is really our first impression of them. And
when you're looking at Tyrese Martin, it's okay, this is
(25:49):
probably like an off guard wing sort of player, you know,
has to shoot the three ball. But like I mentioned,
I really didn't know he had this level of craft
and decision making once he gets in the puding word, Yeah,
some of these kickout passes that he's thrown with like
his left hand and his right hand when he's in
the air finding you know, three point shooters in the corner.
(26:11):
He had the allube to Nick that was just off
for the wind. But right before that he drove the
lane and had a dump off pass for a made
basket from Nick at the last second when they were
down one hundred and ninety four. It cut it to
one hundred ninety six. And it's just he gets by
his man or he attacks his man. But I didn't
(26:31):
really know he could read the next level of defense
like this, and so that's been really inspiring to see
and you think, okay, maybe when guys returned from injury
and he comes back and he's not handling the ball
as much, that's a pretty projectable skill. Like if he
has to attack closeouts, he can create, you know, really
high level offense. It's funny how you think about a
(26:53):
guy like when Royce O'Neil was here, how many good
passes he'd make when a guy.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
Would fly by him off closeouts.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
Tyree s Martin reminds me a little bit of that,
but maybe might be in a you know, a better finisher.
So I'm really excited about his offense.
Speaker 3 (27:09):
And I was just going to say that in speaking
of and I think because I didn't realize this having
watched him before, until we get he's pretty bit like
he's six six, he's two fifteen or so two twenty.
Like he's got a good frame, he's got good size.
Sometimes when you watch how he moves round, how he
is on the court, I feel like there's a couple
extra inches maybe I hadn't given them. And that's where
(27:31):
you see to your point about him finishing or shots
he gets off on.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
That matters, Yeah, just like functionally athletic, you know, in
a way where he can jump from outside the restricted area,
like raise up to finish at the rim and then
have enough left to Okay, let me fire a kickout pass.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
Okay, let me dump it off.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
Like that's not something you see a lot from two
way guys that or maybe not primary initiators, you know.
I think that's what they would struggle with. But he's
actually impressing with that. So I'm really excited for him
to get more minutes. And then with tos On, he
was my Brooklyn's finest. You know, how could he not
be so seamless transition there? He just kind of like
(28:13):
does anything And I mean that in an extremely positive
way because again, young guy doesn't have a ton of.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
NBA experienced new team.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
You notice him on like every possession, you just notice him.
He's just doing something, which is, in my opinion, pretty
rare for guy in his position, don't you think?
Speaker 3 (28:32):
Great description, Great description.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
He and again functionally athletic, like when he closes out.
I mentioned this last week. He's big, he's kind of overwhelming,
and normally with guys I think, you know, trying to
make an NBA roster or an NBA rotation, you know,
cement themselves. You look, Okay, what does this guy do
at an NBA level? Like what is his one skill
(28:56):
that's going to keep him on the court, and then
what's everything? You know, is the rest of his game
up to snuff? To Son's a little different because it's
like he might just do a lot of stuff pretty well,
Like he might be able to bang down low and
close out on the perimeter and handle the ball in
transition and shoot. You know, his career thirty six point
(29:17):
three percent from three across G League and MBA, and
he's finishing at the rim and he's got a little
floater game. He kind of just does everything, And like
the play where he made the go ahead free throws
in Utah, they were down one with ten seconds left,
he fakes a dribble handoff and gets to the rim.
I don't know a lot of two way guys playing
(29:38):
their fifth career game with a team that would have
the guts to do that in the most important possession
of the game.
Speaker 3 (29:45):
Big time play. In On top of that, I think
leading up to those free throws, he was four to
seven from the line or something like that. Like, he's
not like he had he'd been a line a good amount,
but it's not like he I think for most of
his trips to the lie he has split most of
those attempts, And so knocking down like that was another
(30:08):
great that play alone. But then in that moment knocking
down both those free throws, I feel like you see
he's hit some other big shots in very timely moments.
That stuff is impressive. Again, on top of the fact
that he's on a new team right and he's trying
to really create his space here in the league, Jordy.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
This system could be really nice for him. He is
the all time single season record holder for assists in
a year at Princeton his senior year. He took them
to the tournament as like true point forward handling the ball.
So I kind of that Utah game a click for me.
It's like, oh, this is a guy fake handoffs, split
action at the top of the key, you know, hitting cutters,
(30:50):
stuff like that. Just a matchup problem on both ends
of the court. Big enough, you know, to hang with
the big guys and bully small guys, and quick enough.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
You know.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
He drove right around Kyle phil Lapowski a couple times
in the first half to get.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
All the way to the rim. I'm just a fan.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
He just does something on every possession that I'm like, oh,
let me, let me write that down, so that that's
pretty Nets have two pretty unique two way guys. And
then shout out Reese Beakman, who's been a part a
lot of these units. A question with him, as we
know he can guard. He's hit two huge catch and
shoot threes. He cut it to five in Denver and
then he had one against Utah. I forget in the
(31:27):
second half. But all these guys making their case to
play even as the Nets get healthy and you have
now a lot of candidates to choose from. Maybe some
guys coming back. You know, Ben Simmons came back from
a brief injury absence and had a strong game in Utah.
Who is your next net who who do you want
to see this next week? Maybe have some questions, maybe
(31:49):
are excited about Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
That's my answer. He's yeah, absolutely, that's my answer.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
Yeah, I I I should pick him. But you know,
I'm going to a little bit because obviously I'm excited
to watch Toast on play. I just have, you know,
a few questions or a few moments of intrigue with
Jalen Wilson. The shooting hasn't quite been there from three
as much as it was in the early season, So
I just want to know, you know, what is he
(32:17):
doing to affect the game. Otherwise, He's had a couple
possessions with some strong takes to the rim. He's had
a couple turnovers. You know, He's had flashes on defense.
Other times he's gone being off the dribble. So I'm
really curious in this next week and the rest of
the season to see what his b skill is or
what keeps him on the court when he isn't on
(32:37):
fire from three as he was to start the year.
You know, do you have any prediction as to what
that skill might be, what you might want to see
from him.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
I just think in general, it's not even necessarily a skill,
like just keep doing the little things defense, like what
you're doing on the defensive end, rebounding, cutting, hard, taking
open shots, be who you are, and I think that's challenge.
There was so much on him early on in the
season with how he was shooting, but just playing really well,
(33:06):
the fit, the winds, all of that stuff. He's still
in his second year and you're gonna have ups and downs,
you're gonna go through moments. But from him, I just
want to see his confidence level remain as high as
it was in what it is, keep learning, keep improving.
But more so it's just it's all those other all
those other areas of keep doing that type of work
(33:26):
and the shot will eventually fall, and the shot is there.
He can shoot, but making sure it's not affecting the
other areas on.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
The floor completely and he'd be, you know, having more
cuts to the rim, which we know he can do.
If the Nets had some of their primary ball handlers healthy,
his looks from three would be probably a little cleaner.
It's not the best environment for him right now, you know,
compared to what it was in the beginning of the season.
But absolutely, you know, pressure makes diamonds. So I'm excited
(33:53):
to see like these guys all navigate situations.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
That's when you really learn about players.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
Yeah, and I have extreme faith and Jalen Wilson aka
the Light Skin Tom Brady to get it done. I
don't know if you saw what nets Twitter posted, but
it was pretty funny. And with that we will move
to trivia. Sarah has to go to port go to
the arena. You know, I'm sitting in my.
Speaker 3 (34:19):
Bedroom, but I do, I do. I just can't be
by day at Hire unless I'm just talking.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
Sarah's got to go to real grown up work, So
I will just ask.
Speaker 2 (34:29):
We talked about a losing streak a few times.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
Well, and on a positive note, what do you think
the longest winning streak is in NETS franchise history?
Speaker 2 (34:36):
And bonus bonus for when fourteen? Very very good guest, though.
Speaker 1 (34:42):
It happened twice in New Jersey, most recent time two
thousand and five, two thousand and six, led by the
man behind me, Vince Carter.
Speaker 2 (34:51):
Yeah, why you feel.
Speaker 3 (34:53):
You feel like I felt like it was no, I
don't I trust you with my whole heart. For some reason,
I felt like talking about that before, maybe with Vince,
and I thought it was fifteen, and there was maybe
my my the number was just playing in my mind.
But yeah, fourteen, we're right there. Though, we're right there.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
Yeah, well, you know, perhaps it's uh, perhaps it's a
it ended April eighth.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
Yeah, this is going to be the start of a
fish like game win streak.
Speaker 3 (35:22):
Like yeah, yeah, I don't count that, but I do.
I I appreciate. I mean, I'm with you. Although we
can be impressive, but sometimes when people really count that,
like over the season, stead it feels a little.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
I don't like that, you know, preseason, postseason. Anyway, it's fourteen,
you know, that's we'll get back to that soon and
shout out.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
Vince Carter, who was a big you know, leading score
on the about that time.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
January twenty fifth, against the Heat, get your tickets. And
until then, we have this episode. We have another episode
coming out, you know, next week. Before that, I'm sure
we'll talk about Vince a little more. This has been
episode twelve of The Backcourt, a Brooklyn s podcast presented
to you by take your master. Thank you guys so
much for listening. Rate subscribe like the video however you're
(36:13):
listening or watching to us, listen and I really appreciate it.
Of course, what else would you rate it? You guys
have a good have a good week. We will see
you next Wednesday. Thanks for listening.
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