March 26, 2025 • 34 mins
In Episode 22 of The Backcourt Podcast, YES Network’s Sarah Kustok returns to join NetsDaily’s Lucas Kaplan to discuss the Brooklyn Nets’ recent performances as the season heads into its final stretch with only 10 games remaining. The duo dives into the team’s dynamics, their performance in clutch moments, and the optimistic outlook for the future despite some recent challenges. They also shine a spotlight on the impressive play of young talents like Maxwell Lewis and Trendon Watford. To wrap things up, we test your ball knowledge with another round of Nets Trivia!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You are now in the backcourt of Brooklyn Nets podcast
presented by ticket Master. I am your co host, Lucas
Kaplan of NETS Daily, Nets Film Focus. We continue to
pump out great videos for you guys, and joining me
back from a one week hiatus is Sarahkustack of Yes
Network and many many other things.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Sarah, how are we doing?
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Hi, I'm doing great. I'm doing great. I'm glad to
be back with you, Lucas. I really appreciate Ryan Ruco
for for filling in last week. He I think he
now just wants to come back every week, but I
told him he needs to pace himself. He can only
have so we can only have so much of him.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
He asd his debut.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
I will say you you have some uh you know.
I don't want to say big shoes to Phill but he.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
No, I probably do. I probably do. He He's he's
the best of the best. So I'm I'm I'm happy
that that you enjoyed him as much as I enjoyed him,
and I hope our listeners and viewers did as well.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
It was great and hey, Yes Network always a cheerful
broadcast no matter who's on, but especially you and Ryan
and I was in Boston and we recorded the day
after last week, which was another close game. So in
the week since we've recorded, the Nets have played two
games against the Pacers and one last night returning home
(01:21):
against the Dallas Mavericks. Obviously, it's been two weeks since
you've been on, so of course feel free to touch
on whatever has stood out to you in this busy,
busy time of year. A lot of hoops, college hoops,
Nets hoops. But we were just talking off air, and
last night was one of the first times in a
while that Brooklyn kind of just didn't have the Jews
(01:43):
from the start. They lost to the Mavericks one hundred
and twenty to one hundred and one, and I think
it goes to show you it really it says a
lot about their season that you know, they kind of
don't have it, and it feels very surprising. It feels
like we don't see this often. So just from being
in the building last night, you know, kind of an
(02:04):
immediate recap. What did you see from Nets MAVs on
Monday night?
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Yeah, And I think to your point, Lucas, it's a
credit to what this team has done throughout the entirety
of the season. You could look at the record where
it stands now at twenty three and forty nine, and
their play, their performance, if you didn't see anything and
you just watched games, would not indicate that being the case.
(02:29):
Prior to last night, their prior ten games had been
nine points or less ten straight games. So if that
doesn't tell you, if that doesn't tell you exactly how
they've played, the effort they put in, just how resilient
they've been throughout the course of the season. And I
say all that to say that that Dallas game was
(02:50):
it just wasn't their night. Felt that way from the start.
It was a Mavericks team that no doubt got a
big boost with Anthony Davis returning to the lineup. I
think when you look at the injury of Anthony Davis
the direction of the Mavericks season. Obviously that's a whole
other layered story of where they were at. But I
think there was a lot of questions if Ad would
even return at all this season. So I think that
(03:14):
as well, under our friend Jason Kidd, had been a
team that's similar to what we say about the Nets
of regardless of lineup, playing really hard, fighting through a
lot of things, stealing contention for a play in position
at this point currently sitting in eleventh, you could tell
that they felt that juice of having their star player back,
(03:35):
the compliments of how they were playing, and then added
on the fact of the nets. You know, I think
we assume that players and through the course of the
season and your professionals to get paid to do things
like there was a mental and emotional toll that takes
place when very very challenging losses at U and I
think you look at those two Pacers games, being in
(03:57):
Indianapolis for three plus four, the overtime loss, the very
tight loss, just everything that went into those I do
think that can be a heavy burden and a challenge
when all of those close games continued to turn out
in ways that the outcome is not as you desire.
So I said to say, just it looked that way
(04:18):
in missing shots, step slow on defense, some of those
fifty to fifty balls, and it wasn't just I mean,
I think you can look down the staff sheet and
there were some really solid games and solid efforts from
a lot of players. Cam Johnson I think ended up
with a career high and assists, you know, just different
players adding certain moments, there was a little bit of
(04:39):
a push, but it was a first game a long
time that I can remember that it felt like regardless
of the combinations the lineups, who was in, who was
in and out, Dallas was definitely more locked in, with
more of a sense of purpose, more of a sense
of urgency. And I think that happens, that always happened
(05:00):
throughout the course of a season, and I think we're
just not accustomed to it because this Nets team has
shown up as such a level of fight and professionalism
each and every night out.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Yeah, and I wanted to talk about the Dallas game first,
to kind of not just because it happened last night,
but to get it out of the way because it
definitely is the anomaly. And I think talking about the
rest of the Nets week and you know, the week
before that, since you weren't here last time, is you know,
we can talk about greater themes and things we saw consistently.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
But I agree with Dallas, they just didn't have it.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
I think I also want to give credit to Dallas
for a really coherent offensive game plan. To me, we
know the Nets like to pressure the ball, we know
they like to trap head screens and Klay Thompson ex
net spencer Dinwiddy got the ball out of their hands quickly.
And Dallas with that front court of Kai Jones and
(05:55):
Ad haven't played together, but you know, you put those
two on the court, it's a lot of power and
finishing ability at the rim, and they got the ball
from the perimeter to the free throw line area. Four
on threes attacked quickly. You know, Ad wasn't super active
last night getting his legs back under him, but he
had four quick points to open the game. I thought
(06:17):
that set the tone and again says a lot about
the Nets that that type of night where they just
don't have it is really rare. Here's a fun stat.
They lead the NBA in clutch games since the All
Star Break. They've played twelve of them, and so within
five points five minutes or less.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
These games have been tight.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
These games have been really sweaty in a lot of cases,
not easy on the heart. And Brooklyn has you know,
come up short quite a few times. And I think
we're going to really talk about that in this episode.
The two losses to Indiana were different but similar. You know,
the first night in Indiana, they're up five with a
(06:59):
minute to go, and a couple mistakes, a couple empty
possessions later, they're in overtime, can't pull it out in overtime.
The next game in Indiana, they're fighting back from a
twenty point deficit in the fourth quarter. They get, you know,
within a possession, but can't quite finish it out. And
(07:21):
the games felt different, but the ending was the same.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
And so.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
I want to ask, you know, I at least struggle
to make, you know, not make sense of it.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
But is it luck?
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Is it just you know, clutch time comes back around.
The Nets had a lot of clutch wins earlier. Is
there a consistent theme in some of their losses? Like
are they not doing one specific thing down the stretch?
So I wanted to get your take on why young teams,
why this young team, Why the Nets have had some
struggles in closing out clutch games, because their record over
the past month could easily be and perhaps even should
(07:56):
be maybe a lot better.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
I think there's a handful of things that you can
point to, and I don't think there's one clear answer
on that. I will say I was fortunate enough to
Nigel and I We were not always together, but we
were able to watch. We were both in Raleigh for
the first and second rounds of the men sun CUAA Tournament,
and and in watching those games at Indiana, And sometimes
(08:22):
it's different, and I appreciate this when I'm getting a
chance to watch the game as opposed to sending their
calling the game, because there's certain nuances that you pick up.
I think it's important to remember with this team, like
we talk about we talk about young players, we talk
about building, we talk about a foundation that is is
they They have exceeded in such a way even from
(08:43):
the start of the season that I think we had
this expectation. I think they have this expectation for themselves.
Jordi Fernandez, you know the fact that he's a quote
unquote of first year head coach in the NBA and
has not seen like that one single bit. And yes
he has experienced it in so many different stops, and
you know, being a head coach with the Canadian national
(09:04):
team and just so much of his assistant coaching experience,
but even so many of these players, like there's an
aspect of when a down the stretch of a game,
when a you know, a foul occurs that you think Okay,
maybe you can't follow three point shooter on this possession.
Some of that is a young team and just not
(09:26):
being in those circumstances tend to kind of rear themselves.
And I think that's why to me this is there's
so much optimism to be had for the fact that
there is this many opportunities for all of these players
to be at these type of games. The coaching staff
to understand, and it's not just for their experience, but
understanding you know, the players, the trust in their players
(09:50):
who understand certain instances and what cases. You can go
through things and practice as much as you want, but
I think in the early part of the season there
was a level of you have a dentist shooter, you
have a Dorian Finney Smith, you have different players who
have seen so much throughout the course of the league,
who have been in those circumstances, and I think now
you're seeing some players experiencing things that you don't necessarily
(10:12):
have that veteran presence. I think that's so often why
we point to Cam Johnson because he's played in the
biggest moments, on the biggest stages, and you cannot overlook that,
whether it's playing in the finals, whether it's you know,
all the postseason experience, but he too now is in
a very different role and his responsibilities and what he's asked.
And I think every one of these players, everyone has
(10:33):
just been bumped up a notch. So that's a very
long winded way of saying that. I don't think it's
it's pointing to one thing. And I think also other teams.
Sometimes there's a different level of what teams are competing
for at this point of the season. And I think
right now where the Nets it, what Indiana ne is,
what certain wins need sometimes, you know, that's where that
(10:55):
comes into play, down this final stretch of the foundation
you're building and what does it mean, how you're able
to register success and what success means. And I think
for Brooklyn what their success looks like. And I think
we've talked about this in the early part of the season.
Wins and losses is not going to be the indicator
of a successful season, and a winner or a loss
(11:15):
isn't necessarily going to be an indicator of a successful night,
because just because the Nets come away with a win
in a certain instance doesn't mean that they played, performed
learned things that may not help them down the line.
So that's where I think this is. This has just
been a really, really rough stretch and I think in
many instances throughout the course of the NBA you need
(11:38):
to remember. I think it's easy to point to, oh,
they blew this, they blew this leader. You know, you
had this lead, and a lot that happens all the
time in the NBA, and it's not always the fault
of the team who the lead is lost. I think
in many cases too, you got to look at the
other side of it and an opponent coming back. And
I think in many cases we've seen the nets come
back and put themselves in position to win a game,
(12:01):
they just have not closed it out.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
There are a few good points I think you made there,
especially I like what you said about Cam Johnson. He's
played in the Feeble World Cup, he's played in the
NBA Finals, He's played in a lot of playoff games,
and yet when you are the guy initiating offense, it
is just a different It's a different experience. He's not
standing in the corner waiting for the ball to be
(12:24):
swung his way. That is a similar experience, whether in
the first quarter or the fourth quarter, you got to
knock down an open shot. But when he has, when
he's en route to a career high assists at night
against Dallas and then they switch up the coverages against
him in the third quarter and he turns it over
a few times. That's a brand new experience for him,
(12:46):
maybe not in that game, but overall this season. And
I think part of him his improvement is that he's
been able to get those you know, see those challenges.
Speaker 4 (12:57):
Brooklyn Nets fans, Doug Steins and Brooks are great on TV,
but catching them from the hardwood as a whole different
experience because nothing compares to catching your nets irl. And
that all starts a tying tickets a Ticketmaster, the only
official ticket market place of the Brooklyn Nets. Even if
you're headed to the game last minute, you'll find tickets
a Ticketmaster right up until tip off, so you can
catch every highlighting person. And if you've got tickets but
can't make it, including season tickets, Ticketmasters there for the assist.
(13:20):
You can easily and safely sell your game tickets on Ticketmaster.
There's no better brag than being able to say you
saw it live. See you court side.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Brooklyn tyree S Martin, Keon Johnson, they're handling the ball,
They're navigating a defense with the ball in their hands.
So even with the you know, limited experience they have
playing in close games, there's.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
More on their plate now. And in that first.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Game against Indiana, Keon Johnson fouls Benedict Mathern. You know,
fourteen seconds left up three, he makes three free throws.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
NETS challenge that call, They win the challenge.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
It doesn't change what has happened for them in the
previous fourty seven and a half minutes, whether or not
the guy's got one percent better, whether or not Jordi
Fernandez saw, you know, the individual improvements.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
He wants to see.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
So I think that is where what you're saying comes
into play. This season can't be measured in wins and losses.
You know, Keon Johnson's having a career year, and we
break it down on NETS Film focus. He's seen two defenders,
he's quick to the paint, slow ones, he gets there,
driving kick game, you know, making finishes at the rim.
None of that changes whether or not the referees overturn
(14:33):
that foul call. And so it's been a rough stretch,
as you said, but it's also been a very revealing
and in some ways successful stretch. And it's nice to
see the guys get rewarded with wins. But I think
it's okay, and it doesn't, you know, really dampen what
(14:54):
Brooklyn's mission is right now that they haven't been rewarded
with wins.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
One thing I wanted to ask, do.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
You think that it is harder for a young team
to get stops in clutch time? Like do you think
the bleeding is easier to stop? Not the bleeding, but
you know, improvements on defense in clutch time, or you know,
offensive possessions making shots in clutch time.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
You know, if you had to pick, I.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
Think for this young team mm hmmm, we think they
have confidence in making and shot making down the stretch
and a clutch situation. That's what's impressed me so much
about really individually going down the line of these players
why which you love to see And I don't think
it's as natural and you shouldn't be as assumptive about
(15:46):
this about every individual NBA players, but they have hit
critical shot. I mean Cam Johnson, Nick Klaxon, Keon Johnson,
Jalen Wilson, zire Will, Like I'm gonna name everyone throughout
the course of the season, and I think I think
that is this like burgeoning belief of like, oh yeah,
if I get an opportunity, we're gonna we're gonna make
(16:06):
a shot for one another. And even there's been some
instances that they've come back, and I'm thinking of D'Angelo
Russell and obviously him playing a part of that, but
I think they have confidence in that one. It's about
and that's where the factor of what other defenses are doing.
So are you creating the best quality look? Are you
getting the ball to the guy that you want in
his hands? And it's not that you don't trust everyone,
(16:28):
but are you executing something in a way that you're
creating the best quality look? And I think these guys,
and again credit Jordi Fernandez for doing this, I think
they they don't live and die by a shot going
in or out. They know if we ran things, if
we execute it right, if I made an unselfish pass
and play, and if it doesn't go in, doesn't go in.
But we did we create the best look or a
(16:50):
great look for ourselves, and that's that is the evaluator.
And I think they really truly believe that and that
gives you a little more freedom and confidence as a
shooter because you're not so much focused on the in
or out, and I think you see that. I think defensively,
there have been stretches and back to your point of
when they've won those games and won those close games,
a lot of it. I remember talking about it being
(17:13):
defense and getting stops on defense, and I think that's
sometimes as the trigger point of when we've seen wins
or losses and whether it's you know, a file that
you wish you could have back, or just a miscommunication
or being a step slow, or just up against some
of the greatest players in the world that are going
to make shots down the stretch. Some teams they get
(17:33):
about a Cleveland game, you know, down the stretch. This
is a team that has been cooking, and it has
been in so many of these scenarios, and they've got
closers and they know how to make those shots. But
I think in many cases it becomes more of a
challenge defensively, and then that can sometimes led yourself to
how you're feeling, you know, on the offensive end, or
(17:56):
vice versa. But I think what's impressed me with this
group is that they seem to have the confidence and
belief that they're going to be able to close out
those games. And what you don't want is now this
stretch of now having lost seven of that last eight games,
or fourteen the last sixteen. You don't want that to
creep in your head. But I really don't. It doesn't
(18:17):
feel that way. And it's easy to say. This team
still believes in one another, believes in each other, hairs
about getting better, cares about the respect they have for
the game, of putting out their best effort, and I
think that's why there's been so many close games.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
To sort of wrap up this point, and this ties
into why there have been so many close games. I
really liked this Jordi Fernandez quote from pregame against Dallas.
He says, you know, there's so many things you can do.
And when we lost the game in overtime the other day,
it came down to one possession because the game went
overtime and we'd control the whole game, and a lot
(18:53):
of times I think we all think about that last possession.
It was in this case keon fouling. A shooter might
be kicking his leg. They called foul on us. But
is that the possession, I don't think so. We could
have been one possession better in the first quarter, the second,
the third, So you don't know what the possession is. Yes,
the experience to go through the fourth quarter is always
(19:14):
important to execute under pressure, but we also had control
to do one more possession throughout the game. And I
really like that quote, and I think it's indicative of
Jordi's mindset of getting one percent better. Sure, keyon fouling
a shooter or a couple empty possessions in overtime seemed
to stand out as the possession that might have swunk
(19:35):
the game, but it very just as easily could have
been better execution in the first, second or third. And
you know, I think that's a window into this team
this year. There are really no reps off. There's really
no meaningless basketball, and I think that's why you've seen
a ton of guys Zia Williams, Keon Johnson, Tyrees, mart
(19:58):
and Cam Johnson, Tosan Woman Maxwell Lewis all have career
years and despite there being quite a few losses lately,
I think that's going to continue. I wanted to circle
back just two quick guys. Any thoughts on since it's
been two weeks, you know, since you've been on. We
(20:18):
haven't got a chance to talk about the breakout of
Maxwell Lewis.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
What have you seen from him?
Speaker 1 (20:23):
Who He's just poorn in career, best performances night after
night in his sophomore year, his first with the Nets.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
I'm just impressed when you look at him and his frame,
his you know, athleticism, the nature of how he's built.
He's wiry, he's long, he's quick, he's explosive, how much
ground he covers and everything on both ends of the floor.
I've just been really impressed with his patients and when
(20:51):
he gets to his spots in the mid range, for example,
what it looks like him, you know, taking three point shots,
decision making at certain moments in transition, and just the
upside of what he could bring to the table. I
think even more so on the defensive end, when he
continues to acclimate himself. It's not only Jordi Fernandez's system,
but just the game and you know, just getting used
(21:12):
to where he needs to be and tendencies of other players.
But he's been tremendous. And I also think like we've
seen this and they've talked about it. Players have just
oozed with excitement and pride and happiness for just him
getting this opportunity and what it means because of the
person that he is in the locker room and off
(21:34):
the floor, and the teammate that he is, the you know,
the just joy that he brings each and every day
when it's you know, some of these moments now that
I think that's when groups need it more than ever.
So I'm excited. It's great to see in those like
these are the people, the players, the opportunities that you
love that he's getting this chance to really have a
(21:57):
good amount of run, to showcase some of these things
and play through some of his mistakes.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Yeah, and the thing that really stands out is how
happy his teammates are for him. And he fractured a
tivia in his first game with Brooklyn.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Looks like, you know, he could be out for the season.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Oh, you don't want to speculate, but it was just
such a tough moment earlier in Toronto, comes back after
two months and playing the most significant NBA minutes of
his career, and his teammates so joy joyous for him,
and Jordi called that the most important thing. So that's
been great to see, and to your point, I really
(22:37):
do like that he simultaneously tries to fit in the system,
it seems, and thinks about where his rotations are and
what shots he has to take, and has talked about
I need to be a catch and shoot guy. You know,
I like to put the ball on the floor, but
sometimes that gets me in trouble. But at the same time,
I love that. You just I love these role players
that you just notice on the floor, Like he tweeted this,
(22:59):
he makes eight or nine and you know, let's say
he has a ten minute stint. He's making a play
a minute that you have to notice good or bad.
You know, maybe he's over aggressive, but maybe he's getting
a deflection, maybe he's taking.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
The ball to the rim in transition.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
I love and I think it's a good sign for
maybe role players, guys that don't handle the ball as
much to really force their way into the fabric of
a game. The other guy I wanted to ask about
real quick before we do Brooklyn's Finest. Ryan and I
talked about this last week, but since you've been on
it's been a while now. Camp Thomas has been ruled
(23:33):
out for the season with a hamstring injury. We talked
a lot about, you know, his season in review. It
is the end of his rookie contract with the Nets,
so we reflected a bit on his four years in
the league so far as a whole. You don't have
to go too deep on it, but I guess your
reaction and your takeaways from Camp Thomas in year four.
Speaker 3 (23:52):
Well, first of all, your heart breaks for him. You
know how badly he wants to be on the floor.
This significant amount of time he missed it the course
of this season final gets himself back and again it's
it's wild to think when we've watched him, it's like
he has not missed a step, Like every time that
you know he had missed a significant amount of time
comes back on the floor and he's the Cam Thomas
(24:13):
that we know. So the fact that he was only
able to play in twenty five games this season, that
you know that you never want to see. But I
think the jumps and the improvements in his game were evident,
regardless of the sample size of how many games. In
particular of the last game again unfortunate in what you know,
(24:33):
what had happened at the end of the Chicago game
but his ability to knife through the defense assists in
the facilitating the ways that you know he now has
in his head always but so much gravity on the
floor and his balance of his own jot making, calling
his own number, creating for teammates and not just making passes,
(24:56):
but truly getting a guy open for an easy basket.
I think to me that was the big jump, because
it's one thing to run an offense or run sets,
run actions and get off the ball. It's another thing too,
I know how to get this guy a basket. That's
where I think, and that's where I think, Like, to me,
(25:16):
that's a huge difference. In the fun part. We were
talking about Cam Johnson, the girlth he's made. He's getting
guys buckets. He's not just passing within the course and
you end up getting assists because you're running, you're running
a set. He's creating things because of the gravity. Cam
Thomas started to do that and he he's a bucket
like he just truly if you need if you need
(25:37):
a basket, you know you can go to him. And
I also think to just his engagement on the defensive side,
the work that he had put in there, all of
those things I think we're all extremely positive to continue
to watch it to see and just unfortunate that we
now can't see more of it in these final few weeks.
But for him, all you want is for him to
get healthy.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Played only twenty five games this season. But I think
as much as any other net you know, exemplified the
one percent better every day mantra that Jody Fernandez preaches.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
That's a great sign, you know.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
It lets you know that he's doing all the right
things behind the scenes, even when he has a ton
of injury rehab to do on top of that. And
the passing flashes have always been there, you know. He drives,
gets deep into the paint and hits you know, the
dunker spot or a dump off pass for a layup
from one of the bigs. But as to your point,
(26:29):
this season, I think we saw more of Okay, I'm
going to get to this spot and pass up a
shot that I could take to get another guy an
easier look. So I think that was a really important
and fun improvement to see from him. I am going
to transition to another former LSU Tiger for my Brooklyn's
(26:50):
finest I love a good Trenton Watford week because when
he gets going. It's fun it's weird, it's funky. I
like that the Nets have sort of this wildcat offense
off the bench, and I don't say that as a
slight I first subs of the game, six minutes in
the first quarter or whatever it is, Trendon go to
the block. We're going to run some off ball action.
(27:12):
You can find a three point shooter. But if they
don't do w if they don't help, you're posting this
guy into the basket and you're finishing. And I think
it's been really tough for defenses to deal with Trendon
Watford as this change of pace. Something about it just
tickles my fancy when a bench unit has like its
own identity and they come in and they're different and
(27:34):
they mess stuff up, and I like to see Trenton
Watford lead that charge. So that's why I would give
Trendon my Brooklyn's Finest award for the week. Obviously, not
just the way he plays, but the fact that in
Indiana he had two really strong games twenty six point night.
He also had a fifteen point night, got ejected in
(27:57):
one of the games. That's fine, I'm good, you know,
I'm sure he's not happy with the find, but hey,
I am not want to criticize that it was fun
to watch. I guess don't encourage, you know, any any
extra curriculars, but not going to condemn them either.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
What did you see from trend in this week?
Speaker 3 (28:16):
Yeah? I couldn't agree more. And I think it's I
think his ability to be unpredictable when he's in in
a way so that he's making reads. It keeps the
defense on their toes and it's so hard to figure out.
And that's you talk about being fun to watch him.
He continues to grow into that lane of I think
(28:37):
about last season when it came and just being uber
uber aggressive getting downhill and I will turn the corner
and how and that was such an important aspect of
putting pressure on the rim for this group. And he
still does that. But now you can load him up
on the block with his back to the basket and
fan everyone out on the weak side and then allow
him to either operate in in posting up or finding teammates.
(28:59):
How he's run the offense, knocking down three point shots,
just the versatility defensively, Like, I think all of those
things and I do I understand that it was impactful
in the game when he got ejected. However, I think
that type of juice is something that you want and
you need and you need in certain games just to
continue to keep that amount of engagement. And so he's
(29:23):
another player, and again we can go down the list
with so many of these guys, but he's another player
to me that has taken upon himself to understand points
of growth and just continues to expand upon expand how
areas that he's already strong at and do so in
a refined way. And it's been a whole lot of
fun to watch that jump that he keeps making, and
(29:46):
I think there's so much more room even more so
to grow.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
The thing I loved about his performances in Indiana, as
we've been talking about assist to turnovers and like, if
you're going to handle the ball this much, you got
to spray it around to guys. And it feels like
it's come full circle because Indiana, you know, very famously
does tries not to give up a lot of threes.
They oh they are They give of the fifth fewest
(30:11):
threes in the league per cleaning the glass, so they
don't bring a lot of help and Trenton Watford was like,
all right, I've been having career high assist games handling
them all in the past, But if you're not gonna
double me on the block.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
If Andrew Nemhard and.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Ben Shepherd, two guys that I like but are a
little slide of frame, are going to guard me one
on one, then I'm getting to the rim. And it
wasn't selfish or whatever, it was just reading the game.
So he is my pick for Brooklyn's finest. And Jordi
Fernandez talked about the next Nets he wants to see
(30:46):
over these last ten games for Brooklyn, and he said
he wants to get a look at you know a
lot of guys, new guys in different positions out there.
So I don't even think we need to go there
this week because we're just going to see over these
last ten games. Jordi Fernandez who he wants to see
guys that might stand out, Maxwell Lewis.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
And you know who knows.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
But in that vein trivia this week is very simple.
It's not a very complicated question, but it might have
a surprising answer. I don't know, Sarah, who do you
think leads the nets in total minutes?
Speaker 2 (31:20):
This year. Ooh, we have to play the Jeopardy music.
Speaker 3 (31:26):
Well, I'm trying to think. Good. No, I well, I'm
trying to think. I mean, my natural instinct would would
be Cam Johnson, You're.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
So close, he's in second, You're very close.
Speaker 3 (31:40):
And then I guess, I guess I don't know. No,
you're well, No, Trendon missed so much time. When you
said easy, I was thinking, uh, not Trendon, not Nick.
Speaker 1 (31:53):
Zaire, No, no, I'll give you one more guest, similar position,
Cam Rbsire.
Speaker 3 (32:01):
I guess both, Not Jalen Wilson.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
It is Jalen Wilson. Jalen Wilson has only missed one game.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
I was almost gonn guess that because I was like,
Jalen's always available, and he's always a solid minutes, and
he's played in like every game.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
He has played in like every game. I wanted to
just find a way to give him a shoutout because
I'm just looking at their basketball reference page. It's only
missed one game. He's leaving the leaving the you know
team in minutes.
Speaker 3 (32:29):
Man or that was gonna be my second guess after Cam.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
I wish I would have just went with my gut
shouldn't have overhead.
Speaker 3 (32:35):
I was thinking. I was thinking to guys of his
spend more time starting.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
Over the last two weeks, he's had a couple of
nice three point shooting games, including the uh you know
that second game in Indiana he got the start hit
three threes.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
So simple little trivia there.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
Maybe not easy, but a simple question, straightforward question, and
shout out to Jalen Wilson, Sarah, is there anything you'd
like to sign off with here?
Speaker 3 (33:00):
No, I just I'm we got ten games remaining and
I can't believe that we're already here, But I'm I'm
excited to see how it all finishes. And it's been
it really has again, you put the record aside, this
has been such a fun team to watch and to
track and to follow a lot of these individual players,
but also collectively how they've played as a team. And
(33:20):
it's not because we cover them, and it's not because
you know, we see them every night. That really I've
spent a lot a lot of years covering the NBA
and basketball see a lot of iterations of different groups,
and I know this one has changed through the course
of the year, but yeah, but I really I'm impressed
by them, both professionally and personally in so many ways.
(33:40):
And so I'm excited for these final few weeks.
Speaker 2 (33:43):
And all you need to.
Speaker 1 (33:44):
Do to confirm that is talk to people around the
league who say the same thing. You know, I mentioned
this last week, but I was randomly in the hallways
below TD Garden and saw a lot of Celtics personnel say,
give a lot of complimentary you know, give a lot
of compliments to Nets staff Nets players that they saw.
You know, just guys play hard. It's fun to watch.
(34:06):
And that's someone from a reigning champion, and I think
it's very true. And it's made this season fun to watch,
as Sarah said, and it's made it fun to podcast about.
It's made it fun to release these episodes and as always,
thank you guys for listening to them. This has been
episode twenty two WOW of the Backcourt Brooklyn Nets podcast,
presented by Ticketmaster. We thank them, We obviously thank you
(34:29):
guys for listening, like and raid and subscribe, give us
positive feedback or you know, negative feedback if that's honestly
what you think. But for some reason, I doubt that
we have a great positive community of NETS fans per
usual listening to this pod, and on that note, we
will see you guys next week.
You are now in the backcourt of Brooklyn Nets podcast
presented by ticket Master. I am your co host, Lucas
Kaplan of NETS Daily, Nets Film Focus. We continue to
pump out great videos for you guys, and joining me
back from a one week hiatus is Sarahkustack of Yes
Network and many many other things.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Sarah, how are we doing?
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Hi, I'm doing great. I'm doing great. I'm glad to
be back with you, Lucas. I really appreciate Ryan Ruco
for for filling in last week. He I think he
now just wants to come back every week, but I
told him he needs to pace himself. He can only
have so we can only have so much of him.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
He asd his debut.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
I will say you you have some uh you know.
I don't want to say big shoes to Phill but he.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
No, I probably do. I probably do. He He's he's
the best of the best. So I'm I'm I'm happy
that that you enjoyed him as much as I enjoyed him,
and I hope our listeners and viewers did as well.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
It was great and hey, Yes Network always a cheerful
broadcast no matter who's on, but especially you and Ryan
and I was in Boston and we recorded the day
after last week, which was another close game. So in
the week since we've recorded, the Nets have played two
games against the Pacers and one last night returning home
(01:21):
against the Dallas Mavericks. Obviously, it's been two weeks since
you've been on, so of course feel free to touch
on whatever has stood out to you in this busy,
busy time of year. A lot of hoops, college hoops,
Nets hoops. But we were just talking off air, and
last night was one of the first times in a
while that Brooklyn kind of just didn't have the Jews
(01:43):
from the start. They lost to the Mavericks one hundred
and twenty to one hundred and one, and I think
it goes to show you it really it says a
lot about their season that you know, they kind of
don't have it, and it feels very surprising. It feels
like we don't see this often. So just from being
in the building last night, you know, kind of an
(02:04):
immediate recap. What did you see from Nets MAVs on
Monday night?
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Yeah, And I think to your point, Lucas, it's a
credit to what this team has done throughout the entirety
of the season. You could look at the record where
it stands now at twenty three and forty nine, and
their play, their performance, if you didn't see anything and
you just watched games, would not indicate that being the case.
(02:29):
Prior to last night, their prior ten games had been
nine points or less ten straight games. So if that
doesn't tell you, if that doesn't tell you exactly how
they've played, the effort they put in, just how resilient
they've been throughout the course of the season. And I
say all that to say that that Dallas game was
(02:50):
it just wasn't their night. Felt that way from the start.
It was a Mavericks team that no doubt got a
big boost with Anthony Davis returning to the lineup. I
think when you look at the injury of Anthony Davis
the direction of the Mavericks season. Obviously that's a whole
other layered story of where they were at. But I
think there was a lot of questions if Ad would
even return at all this season. So I think that
(03:14):
as well, under our friend Jason Kidd, had been a
team that's similar to what we say about the Nets
of regardless of lineup, playing really hard, fighting through a
lot of things, stealing contention for a play in position
at this point currently sitting in eleventh, you could tell
that they felt that juice of having their star player back,
(03:35):
the compliments of how they were playing, and then added
on the fact of the nets. You know, I think
we assume that players and through the course of the
season and your professionals to get paid to do things
like there was a mental and emotional toll that takes
place when very very challenging losses at U and I
think you look at those two Pacers games, being in
(03:57):
Indianapolis for three plus four, the overtime loss, the very
tight loss, just everything that went into those I do
think that can be a heavy burden and a challenge
when all of those close games continued to turn out
in ways that the outcome is not as you desire.
So I said to say, just it looked that way
(04:18):
in missing shots, step slow on defense, some of those
fifty to fifty balls, and it wasn't just I mean,
I think you can look down the staff sheet and
there were some really solid games and solid efforts from
a lot of players. Cam Johnson I think ended up
with a career high and assists, you know, just different
players adding certain moments, there was a little bit of
(04:39):
a push, but it was a first game a long
time that I can remember that it felt like regardless
of the combinations the lineups, who was in, who was
in and out, Dallas was definitely more locked in, with
more of a sense of purpose, more of a sense
of urgency. And I think that happens, that always happened
(05:00):
throughout the course of a season, and I think we're
just not accustomed to it because this Nets team has
shown up as such a level of fight and professionalism
each and every night out.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Yeah, and I wanted to talk about the Dallas game first,
to kind of not just because it happened last night,
but to get it out of the way because it
definitely is the anomaly. And I think talking about the
rest of the Nets week and you know, the week
before that, since you weren't here last time, is you know,
we can talk about greater themes and things we saw consistently.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
But I agree with Dallas, they just didn't have it.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
I think I also want to give credit to Dallas
for a really coherent offensive game plan. To me, we
know the Nets like to pressure the ball, we know
they like to trap head screens and Klay Thompson ex
net spencer Dinwiddy got the ball out of their hands quickly.
And Dallas with that front court of Kai Jones and
(05:55):
Ad haven't played together, but you know, you put those
two on the court, it's a lot of power and
finishing ability at the rim, and they got the ball
from the perimeter to the free throw line area. Four
on threes attacked quickly. You know, Ad wasn't super active
last night getting his legs back under him, but he
had four quick points to open the game. I thought
(06:17):
that set the tone and again says a lot about
the Nets that that type of night where they just
don't have it is really rare. Here's a fun stat.
They lead the NBA in clutch games since the All
Star Break. They've played twelve of them, and so within
five points five minutes or less.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
These games have been tight.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
These games have been really sweaty in a lot of cases,
not easy on the heart. And Brooklyn has you know,
come up short quite a few times. And I think
we're going to really talk about that in this episode.
The two losses to Indiana were different but similar. You know,
the first night in Indiana, they're up five with a
(06:59):
minute to go, and a couple mistakes, a couple empty
possessions later, they're in overtime, can't pull it out in overtime.
The next game in Indiana, they're fighting back from a
twenty point deficit in the fourth quarter. They get, you know,
within a possession, but can't quite finish it out. And
(07:21):
the games felt different, but the ending was the same.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
And so.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
I want to ask, you know, I at least struggle
to make, you know, not make sense of it.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
But is it luck?
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Is it just you know, clutch time comes back around.
The Nets had a lot of clutch wins earlier. Is
there a consistent theme in some of their losses? Like
are they not doing one specific thing down the stretch?
So I wanted to get your take on why young teams,
why this young team, Why the Nets have had some
struggles in closing out clutch games, because their record over
the past month could easily be and perhaps even should
(07:56):
be maybe a lot better.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
I think there's a handful of things that you can
point to, and I don't think there's one clear answer
on that. I will say I was fortunate enough to
Nigel and I We were not always together, but we
were able to watch. We were both in Raleigh for
the first and second rounds of the men sun CUAA Tournament,
and and in watching those games at Indiana, And sometimes
(08:22):
it's different, and I appreciate this when I'm getting a
chance to watch the game as opposed to sending their
calling the game, because there's certain nuances that you pick up.
I think it's important to remember with this team, like
we talk about we talk about young players, we talk
about building, we talk about a foundation that is is
they They have exceeded in such a way even from
(08:43):
the start of the season that I think we had
this expectation. I think they have this expectation for themselves.
Jordi Fernandez, you know the fact that he's a quote
unquote of first year head coach in the NBA and
has not seen like that one single bit. And yes
he has experienced it in so many different stops, and
you know, being a head coach with the Canadian national
(09:04):
team and just so much of his assistant coaching experience,
but even so many of these players, like there's an
aspect of when a down the stretch of a game,
when a you know, a foul occurs that you think Okay,
maybe you can't follow three point shooter on this possession.
Some of that is a young team and just not
(09:26):
being in those circumstances tend to kind of rear themselves.
And I think that's why to me this is there's
so much optimism to be had for the fact that
there is this many opportunities for all of these players
to be at these type of games. The coaching staff
to understand, and it's not just for their experience, but
understanding you know, the players, the trust in their players
(09:50):
who understand certain instances and what cases. You can go
through things and practice as much as you want, but
I think in the early part of the season there
was a level of you have a dentist shooter, you
have a Dorian Finney Smith, you have different players who
have seen so much throughout the course of the league,
who have been in those circumstances, and I think now
you're seeing some players experiencing things that you don't necessarily
(10:12):
have that veteran presence. I think that's so often why
we point to Cam Johnson because he's played in the
biggest moments, on the biggest stages, and you cannot overlook that,
whether it's playing in the finals, whether it's you know,
all the postseason experience, but he too now is in
a very different role and his responsibilities and what he's asked.
And I think every one of these players, everyone has
(10:33):
just been bumped up a notch. So that's a very
long winded way of saying that. I don't think it's
it's pointing to one thing. And I think also other teams.
Sometimes there's a different level of what teams are competing
for at this point of the season. And I think
right now where the Nets it, what Indiana ne is,
what certain wins need sometimes, you know, that's where that
(10:55):
comes into play, down this final stretch of the foundation
you're building and what does it mean, how you're able
to register success and what success means. And I think
for Brooklyn what their success looks like. And I think
we've talked about this in the early part of the season.
Wins and losses is not going to be the indicator
of a successful season, and a winner or a loss
(11:15):
isn't necessarily going to be an indicator of a successful night,
because just because the Nets come away with a win
in a certain instance doesn't mean that they played, performed
learned things that may not help them down the line.
So that's where I think this is. This has just
been a really, really rough stretch and I think in
many instances throughout the course of the NBA you need
(11:38):
to remember. I think it's easy to point to, oh,
they blew this, they blew this leader. You know, you
had this lead, and a lot that happens all the
time in the NBA, and it's not always the fault
of the team who the lead is lost. I think
in many cases too, you got to look at the
other side of it and an opponent coming back. And
I think in many cases we've seen the nets come
back and put themselves in position to win a game,
(12:01):
they just have not closed it out.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
There are a few good points I think you made there,
especially I like what you said about Cam Johnson. He's
played in the Feeble World Cup, he's played in the
NBA Finals, He's played in a lot of playoff games,
and yet when you are the guy initiating offense, it
is just a different It's a different experience. He's not
standing in the corner waiting for the ball to be
(12:24):
swung his way. That is a similar experience, whether in
the first quarter or the fourth quarter, you got to
knock down an open shot. But when he has, when
he's en route to a career high assists at night
against Dallas and then they switch up the coverages against
him in the third quarter and he turns it over
a few times. That's a brand new experience for him,
(12:46):
maybe not in that game, but overall this season. And
I think part of him his improvement is that he's
been able to get those you know, see those challenges.
Speaker 4 (12:57):
Brooklyn Nets fans, Doug Steins and Brooks are great on TV,
but catching them from the hardwood as a whole different
experience because nothing compares to catching your nets irl. And
that all starts a tying tickets a Ticketmaster, the only
official ticket market place of the Brooklyn Nets. Even if
you're headed to the game last minute, you'll find tickets
a Ticketmaster right up until tip off, so you can
catch every highlighting person. And if you've got tickets but
can't make it, including season tickets, Ticketmasters there for the assist.
(13:20):
You can easily and safely sell your game tickets on Ticketmaster.
There's no better brag than being able to say you
saw it live. See you court side.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Brooklyn tyree S Martin, Keon Johnson, they're handling the ball,
They're navigating a defense with the ball in their hands.
So even with the you know, limited experience they have
playing in close games, there's.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
More on their plate now. And in that first.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Game against Indiana, Keon Johnson fouls Benedict Mathern. You know,
fourteen seconds left up three, he makes three free throws.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
NETS challenge that call, They win the challenge.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
It doesn't change what has happened for them in the
previous fourty seven and a half minutes, whether or not
the guy's got one percent better, whether or not Jordi
Fernandez saw, you know, the individual improvements.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
He wants to see.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
So I think that is where what you're saying comes
into play. This season can't be measured in wins and losses.
You know, Keon Johnson's having a career year, and we
break it down on NETS Film focus. He's seen two defenders,
he's quick to the paint, slow ones, he gets there,
driving kick game, you know, making finishes at the rim.
None of that changes whether or not the referees overturn
(14:33):
that foul call. And so it's been a rough stretch,
as you said, but it's also been a very revealing
and in some ways successful stretch. And it's nice to
see the guys get rewarded with wins. But I think
it's okay, and it doesn't, you know, really dampen what
(14:54):
Brooklyn's mission is right now that they haven't been rewarded
with wins.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
One thing I wanted to ask, do.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
You think that it is harder for a young team
to get stops in clutch time? Like do you think
the bleeding is easier to stop? Not the bleeding, but
you know, improvements on defense in clutch time, or you know,
offensive possessions making shots in clutch time.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
You know, if you had to pick, I.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
Think for this young team mm hmmm, we think they
have confidence in making and shot making down the stretch
and a clutch situation. That's what's impressed me so much
about really individually going down the line of these players
why which you love to see And I don't think
it's as natural and you shouldn't be as assumptive about
(15:46):
this about every individual NBA players, but they have hit
critical shot. I mean Cam Johnson, Nick Klaxon, Keon Johnson,
Jalen Wilson, zire Will, Like I'm gonna name everyone throughout
the course of the season, and I think I think
that is this like burgeoning belief of like, oh yeah,
if I get an opportunity, we're gonna we're gonna make
(16:06):
a shot for one another. And even there's been some
instances that they've come back, and I'm thinking of D'Angelo
Russell and obviously him playing a part of that, but
I think they have confidence in that one. It's about
and that's where the factor of what other defenses are doing.
So are you creating the best quality look? Are you
getting the ball to the guy that you want in
his hands? And it's not that you don't trust everyone,
(16:28):
but are you executing something in a way that you're
creating the best quality look? And I think these guys,
and again credit Jordi Fernandez for doing this, I think
they they don't live and die by a shot going
in or out. They know if we ran things, if
we execute it right, if I made an unselfish pass
and play, and if it doesn't go in, doesn't go in.
But we did we create the best look or a
(16:50):
great look for ourselves, and that's that is the evaluator.
And I think they really truly believe that and that
gives you a little more freedom and confidence as a
shooter because you're not so much focused on the in
or out, and I think you see that. I think defensively,
there have been stretches and back to your point of
when they've won those games and won those close games,
a lot of it. I remember talking about it being
(17:13):
defense and getting stops on defense, and I think that's
sometimes as the trigger point of when we've seen wins
or losses and whether it's you know, a file that
you wish you could have back, or just a miscommunication
or being a step slow, or just up against some
of the greatest players in the world that are going
to make shots down the stretch. Some teams they get
(17:33):
about a Cleveland game, you know, down the stretch. This
is a team that has been cooking, and it has
been in so many of these scenarios, and they've got
closers and they know how to make those shots. But
I think in many cases it becomes more of a
challenge defensively, and then that can sometimes led yourself to
how you're feeling, you know, on the offensive end, or
(17:56):
vice versa. But I think what's impressed me with this
group is that they seem to have the confidence and
belief that they're going to be able to close out
those games. And what you don't want is now this
stretch of now having lost seven of that last eight games,
or fourteen the last sixteen. You don't want that to
creep in your head. But I really don't. It doesn't
(18:17):
feel that way. And it's easy to say. This team
still believes in one another, believes in each other, hairs
about getting better, cares about the respect they have for
the game, of putting out their best effort, and I
think that's why there's been so many close games.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
To sort of wrap up this point, and this ties
into why there have been so many close games. I
really liked this Jordi Fernandez quote from pregame against Dallas.
He says, you know, there's so many things you can do.
And when we lost the game in overtime the other day,
it came down to one possession because the game went
overtime and we'd control the whole game, and a lot
(18:53):
of times I think we all think about that last possession.
It was in this case keon fouling. A shooter might
be kicking his leg. They called foul on us. But
is that the possession, I don't think so. We could
have been one possession better in the first quarter, the second,
the third, So you don't know what the possession is. Yes,
the experience to go through the fourth quarter is always
(19:14):
important to execute under pressure, but we also had control
to do one more possession throughout the game. And I
really like that quote, and I think it's indicative of
Jordi's mindset of getting one percent better. Sure, keyon fouling
a shooter or a couple empty possessions in overtime seemed
to stand out as the possession that might have swunk
(19:35):
the game, but it very just as easily could have
been better execution in the first, second or third. And
you know, I think that's a window into this team
this year. There are really no reps off. There's really
no meaningless basketball, and I think that's why you've seen
a ton of guys Zia Williams, Keon Johnson, Tyrees, mart
(19:58):
and Cam Johnson, Tosan Woman Maxwell Lewis all have career
years and despite there being quite a few losses lately,
I think that's going to continue. I wanted to circle
back just two quick guys. Any thoughts on since it's
been two weeks, you know, since you've been on. We
(20:18):
haven't got a chance to talk about the breakout of
Maxwell Lewis.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
What have you seen from him?
Speaker 1 (20:23):
Who He's just poorn in career, best performances night after
night in his sophomore year, his first with the Nets.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
I'm just impressed when you look at him and his frame,
his you know, athleticism, the nature of how he's built.
He's wiry, he's long, he's quick, he's explosive, how much
ground he covers and everything on both ends of the floor.
I've just been really impressed with his patients and when
(20:51):
he gets to his spots in the mid range, for example,
what it looks like him, you know, taking three point shots,
decision making at certain moments in transition, and just the
upside of what he could bring to the table. I
think even more so on the defensive end, when he
continues to acclimate himself. It's not only Jordi Fernandez's system,
but just the game and you know, just getting used
(21:12):
to where he needs to be and tendencies of other players.
But he's been tremendous. And I also think like we've
seen this and they've talked about it. Players have just
oozed with excitement and pride and happiness for just him
getting this opportunity and what it means because of the
person that he is in the locker room and off
(21:34):
the floor, and the teammate that he is, the you know,
the just joy that he brings each and every day
when it's you know, some of these moments now that
I think that's when groups need it more than ever.
So I'm excited. It's great to see in those like
these are the people, the players, the opportunities that you
love that he's getting this chance to really have a
(21:57):
good amount of run, to showcase some of these things
and play through some of his mistakes.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Yeah, and the thing that really stands out is how
happy his teammates are for him. And he fractured a
tivia in his first game with Brooklyn.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Looks like, you know, he could be out for the season.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Oh, you don't want to speculate, but it was just
such a tough moment earlier in Toronto, comes back after
two months and playing the most significant NBA minutes of
his career, and his teammates so joy joyous for him,
and Jordi called that the most important thing. So that's
been great to see, and to your point, I really
(22:37):
do like that he simultaneously tries to fit in the system,
it seems, and thinks about where his rotations are and
what shots he has to take, and has talked about
I need to be a catch and shoot guy. You know,
I like to put the ball on the floor, but
sometimes that gets me in trouble. But at the same time,
I love that. You just I love these role players
that you just notice on the floor, Like he tweeted this,
(22:59):
he makes eight or nine and you know, let's say
he has a ten minute stint. He's making a play
a minute that you have to notice good or bad.
You know, maybe he's over aggressive, but maybe he's getting
a deflection, maybe he's taking.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
The ball to the rim in transition.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
I love and I think it's a good sign for
maybe role players, guys that don't handle the ball as
much to really force their way into the fabric of
a game. The other guy I wanted to ask about
real quick before we do Brooklyn's Finest. Ryan and I
talked about this last week, but since you've been on
it's been a while now. Camp Thomas has been ruled
(23:33):
out for the season with a hamstring injury. We talked
a lot about, you know, his season in review. It
is the end of his rookie contract with the Nets,
so we reflected a bit on his four years in
the league so far as a whole. You don't have
to go too deep on it, but I guess your
reaction and your takeaways from Camp Thomas in year four.
Speaker 3 (23:52):
Well, first of all, your heart breaks for him. You
know how badly he wants to be on the floor.
This significant amount of time he missed it the course
of this season final gets himself back and again it's
it's wild to think when we've watched him, it's like
he has not missed a step, Like every time that
you know he had missed a significant amount of time
comes back on the floor and he's the Cam Thomas
(24:13):
that we know. So the fact that he was only
able to play in twenty five games this season, that
you know that you never want to see. But I
think the jumps and the improvements in his game were evident,
regardless of the sample size of how many games. In
particular of the last game again unfortunate in what you know,
(24:33):
what had happened at the end of the Chicago game
but his ability to knife through the defense assists in
the facilitating the ways that you know he now has
in his head always but so much gravity on the
floor and his balance of his own jot making, calling
his own number, creating for teammates and not just making passes,
(24:56):
but truly getting a guy open for an easy basket.
I think to me that was the big jump, because
it's one thing to run an offense or run sets,
run actions and get off the ball. It's another thing too,
I know how to get this guy a basket. That's
where I think, and that's where I think, Like, to me,
(25:16):
that's a huge difference. In the fun part. We were
talking about Cam Johnson, the girlth he's made. He's getting
guys buckets. He's not just passing within the course and
you end up getting assists because you're running, you're running
a set. He's creating things because of the gravity. Cam
Thomas started to do that and he he's a bucket
like he just truly if you need if you need
(25:37):
a basket, you know you can go to him. And
I also think to just his engagement on the defensive side,
the work that he had put in there, all of
those things I think we're all extremely positive to continue
to watch it to see and just unfortunate that we
now can't see more of it in these final few weeks.
But for him, all you want is for him to
get healthy.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Played only twenty five games this season. But I think
as much as any other net you know, exemplified the
one percent better every day mantra that Jody Fernandez preaches.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
That's a great sign, you know.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
It lets you know that he's doing all the right
things behind the scenes, even when he has a ton
of injury rehab to do on top of that. And
the passing flashes have always been there, you know. He drives,
gets deep into the paint and hits you know, the
dunker spot or a dump off pass for a layup
from one of the bigs. But as to your point,
(26:29):
this season, I think we saw more of Okay, I'm
going to get to this spot and pass up a
shot that I could take to get another guy an
easier look. So I think that was a really important
and fun improvement to see from him. I am going
to transition to another former LSU Tiger for my Brooklyn's
(26:50):
finest I love a good Trenton Watford week because when
he gets going. It's fun it's weird, it's funky. I
like that the Nets have sort of this wildcat offense
off the bench, and I don't say that as a
slight I first subs of the game, six minutes in
the first quarter or whatever it is, Trendon go to
the block. We're going to run some off ball action.
(27:12):
You can find a three point shooter. But if they
don't do w if they don't help, you're posting this
guy into the basket and you're finishing. And I think
it's been really tough for defenses to deal with Trendon
Watford as this change of pace. Something about it just
tickles my fancy when a bench unit has like its
own identity and they come in and they're different and
(27:34):
they mess stuff up, and I like to see Trenton
Watford lead that charge. So that's why I would give
Trendon my Brooklyn's Finest award for the week. Obviously, not
just the way he plays, but the fact that in
Indiana he had two really strong games twenty six point night.
He also had a fifteen point night, got ejected in
(27:57):
one of the games. That's fine, I'm good, you know,
I'm sure he's not happy with the find, but hey,
I am not want to criticize that it was fun
to watch. I guess don't encourage, you know, any any
extra curriculars, but not going to condemn them either.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
What did you see from trend in this week?
Speaker 3 (28:16):
Yeah? I couldn't agree more. And I think it's I
think his ability to be unpredictable when he's in in
a way so that he's making reads. It keeps the
defense on their toes and it's so hard to figure out.
And that's you talk about being fun to watch him.
He continues to grow into that lane of I think
(28:37):
about last season when it came and just being uber
uber aggressive getting downhill and I will turn the corner
and how and that was such an important aspect of
putting pressure on the rim for this group. And he
still does that. But now you can load him up
on the block with his back to the basket and
fan everyone out on the weak side and then allow
him to either operate in in posting up or finding teammates.
(28:59):
How he's run the offense, knocking down three point shots,
just the versatility defensively, Like, I think all of those
things and I do I understand that it was impactful
in the game when he got ejected. However, I think
that type of juice is something that you want and
you need and you need in certain games just to
continue to keep that amount of engagement. And so he's
(29:23):
another player, and again we can go down the list
with so many of these guys, but he's another player
to me that has taken upon himself to understand points
of growth and just continues to expand upon expand how
areas that he's already strong at and do so in
a refined way. And it's been a whole lot of
fun to watch that jump that he keeps making, and
(29:46):
I think there's so much more room even more so
to grow.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
The thing I loved about his performances in Indiana, as
we've been talking about assist to turnovers and like, if
you're going to handle the ball this much, you got
to spray it around to guys. And it feels like
it's come full circle because Indiana, you know, very famously
does tries not to give up a lot of threes.
They oh they are They give of the fifth fewest
(30:11):
threes in the league per cleaning the glass, so they
don't bring a lot of help and Trenton Watford was like,
all right, I've been having career high assist games handling
them all in the past, But if you're not gonna
double me on the block.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
If Andrew Nemhard and.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Ben Shepherd, two guys that I like but are a
little slide of frame, are going to guard me one
on one, then I'm getting to the rim. And it
wasn't selfish or whatever, it was just reading the game.
So he is my pick for Brooklyn's finest. And Jordi
Fernandez talked about the next Nets he wants to see
(30:46):
over these last ten games for Brooklyn, and he said
he wants to get a look at you know a
lot of guys, new guys in different positions out there.
So I don't even think we need to go there
this week because we're just going to see over these
last ten games. Jordi Fernandez who he wants to see
guys that might stand out, Maxwell Lewis.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
And you know who knows.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
But in that vein trivia this week is very simple.
It's not a very complicated question, but it might have
a surprising answer. I don't know, Sarah, who do you
think leads the nets in total minutes?
Speaker 2 (31:20):
This year. Ooh, we have to play the Jeopardy music.
Speaker 3 (31:26):
Well, I'm trying to think. Good. No, I well, I'm
trying to think. I mean, my natural instinct would would
be Cam Johnson, You're.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
So close, he's in second, You're very close.
Speaker 3 (31:40):
And then I guess, I guess I don't know. No,
you're well, No, Trendon missed so much time. When you
said easy, I was thinking, uh, not Trendon, not Nick.
Speaker 1 (31:53):
Zaire, No, no, I'll give you one more guest, similar position,
Cam Rbsire.
Speaker 3 (32:01):
I guess both, Not Jalen Wilson.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
It is Jalen Wilson. Jalen Wilson has only missed one game.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
I was almost gonn guess that because I was like,
Jalen's always available, and he's always a solid minutes, and
he's played in like every game.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
He has played in like every game. I wanted to
just find a way to give him a shoutout because
I'm just looking at their basketball reference page. It's only
missed one game. He's leaving the leaving the you know
team in minutes.
Speaker 3 (32:29):
Man or that was gonna be my second guess after Cam.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
I wish I would have just went with my gut
shouldn't have overhead.
Speaker 3 (32:35):
I was thinking. I was thinking to guys of his
spend more time starting.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
Over the last two weeks, he's had a couple of
nice three point shooting games, including the uh you know
that second game in Indiana he got the start hit
three threes.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
So simple little trivia there.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
Maybe not easy, but a simple question, straightforward question, and
shout out to Jalen Wilson, Sarah, is there anything you'd
like to sign off with here?
Speaker 3 (33:00):
No, I just I'm we got ten games remaining and
I can't believe that we're already here, But I'm I'm
excited to see how it all finishes. And it's been
it really has again, you put the record aside, this
has been such a fun team to watch and to
track and to follow a lot of these individual players,
but also collectively how they've played as a team. And
(33:20):
it's not because we cover them, and it's not because
you know, we see them every night. That really I've
spent a lot a lot of years covering the NBA
and basketball see a lot of iterations of different groups,
and I know this one has changed through the course
of the year, but yeah, but I really I'm impressed
by them, both professionally and personally in so many ways.
(33:40):
And so I'm excited for these final few weeks.
Speaker 2 (33:43):
And all you need to.
Speaker 1 (33:44):
Do to confirm that is talk to people around the
league who say the same thing. You know, I mentioned
this last week, but I was randomly in the hallways
below TD Garden and saw a lot of Celtics personnel say,
give a lot of complimentary you know, give a lot
of compliments to Nets staff Nets players that they saw.
You know, just guys play hard. It's fun to watch.
(34:06):
And that's someone from a reigning champion, and I think
it's very true. And it's made this season fun to watch,
as Sarah said, and it's made it fun to podcast about.
It's made it fun to release these episodes and as always,
thank you guys for listening to them. This has been
episode twenty two WOW of the Backcourt Brooklyn Nets podcast,
presented by Ticketmaster. We thank them, We obviously thank you
(34:29):
guys for listening, like and raid and subscribe, give us
positive feedback or you know, negative feedback if that's honestly
what you think. But for some reason, I doubt that
we have a great positive community of NETS fans per
usual listening to this pod, and on that note, we
will see you guys next week.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.