Despite being eliminated from playoff contention, the Nets narrowly lost to the Kings 107-77 on Sunday night after coming off wins over the Pacers and Pistons.
But it was a loss that offers a lot of insight into the future.
With Nic Claxton (left ankle sprain), Cam Johnson (left big toe sprain), and Dorian Finney-Smith (left knee effusion) all out with injuries, the Nets leadership is left with no players who could play. There was plenty of playing time to observe and evaluate. It won’t continue next season.
Players like Trendon Watford.
The Nets’ new sixth man is an example of a young investment opportunity as he is a pending free agent and has improved his play recently.
The 23-year-old Watford is averaging 13.1 points on 57.1 percent shooting and 47.4 percent from 3-point range in 23.5 minutes per game over the last eight games.
This is a significant increase from his 60 games played this season, where he averaged 6.6 points overall and shot 53.4 percent from the field.
Watford, a third-year pro, averaged 7.5 points on 54.7 percent shooting in 18.6 minutes per game in his first two NBA seasons with the Trail Blazers.
“[Watford is] Always ready. He’s always positive on the bench and on the court and gives us good energy,” Claxton said after Watford’s April 1 loss to the Pacers, in which he scored 21 points off the bench. Told. “And now you can see he’s taking his chances and making the most of his reps.”
Watford is playing with the Nets on a contract worth at least $2 million, and the Nets have the option to extend his qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent.
The forward had a strong performance statistically in the blowout loss to the Kings, posting 16 points, seven rebounds, and two assists in 33 minutes.
But his performance also yielded -36 points, similar to the horrible plus/minus marks that rookies Jalen Wilson and Noah Clowney put up in rare overtime games.
“They just keep learning and playing through these situations and learning from each other,” interim coach Kevin Ollie said of the young players. “These are competitive games and Sacramento is still playing for playoff seeding, so these teams will continue to be aggressive and play hard, but these last few minutes they It’s so important to my learning growth and I’ll be back again next year, gaining valuable time and gaining great experience.” ”
It was Clowney’s first career start and Wilson’s third game.
They played 35 and 32 minutes, respectively, but were minus-26 and minus-10 minutes on the court.
Watford’s increased playing time will give the remaining starters more playing time with the potential for extended action before the end of the season.
“We’ve got to keep building. I think we just have to keep playing the right way and keep playing hard,” Mikal Bridges said Sunday. “You can be selfish this time of year, especially when you’re away from the playoffs, and you’ve got to get off that hump and keep playing together. Obviously there’s no playoffs or anything, but we’re preparing for next year. We’re just progressing.” … Being on the same court as these young players, it’s not like we won’t be playing together next year. ”
