Nic Claxton will have more height on his side Saturday night when the Nets take on the Timberwolves for the second time this season.
When the teams met for the first time on Jan. 25, the 6-foot-11 center faced Rudy Gobert 7-1 and 7-foot Karl-Anthony Towns alone, 96-94. It ended in a Minnesota victory.
Still, Ben Simmons, 6-10, will help Claxton this time around, even though the fifth-year Nett had a strong showing in their last meeting, recording 16 points, 11 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. I’ll be there for it. .
After a 121-93 loss to the Raptors, the Nets outscored the Raptors 45-39 despite committing 20 turnovers, the team’s first loss under interim coach Kevin Ollie, but Thursday’s second chance Both teams will need each other to regain points.
“I think they started getting offensive rebounds and that led to two threes, one or two threes, so it’s tough,” Cam Thomas said in the third quarter when the Raptors led 10-0. He talked about rebounding. “They’re just starting to do what they’re good at, which is transition and offensive rebounding and getting second-chance points. So we have to clean it up and stay locked in for 48 minutes. [minutes]”
They’ll be at their best, especially against Gobert, who averages 12.5 rebounds, second in the league, and ranks eighth in the NBA in blocks per game (2.1). This is two places behind Claxton’s 2.2.
Minnesota got the best of Brooklyn on the boards last time, outscoring them by six. The Timberwolves also scored 46 points in the paint compared to the Nets’ 38 points.
Despite the loss, Claxton thought he showed he could compete with the best teams in the league.
“I think I’m a great big man,” Claxton said after the first game against the Timberwolves. “Whenever there’s a matchup like that, being one of the top centers in the league, I always think personally about going out there and being the best version of myself. I’m a very competitive person. I love basketball and I love competing, so I bring my basketball with me every night.”
Claxton and Simmons both averaged high rebounds per game this season when both were off the court due to injuries.
While Simmons appeared in six games early in the season before suffering a lower back impingement, Claxton averaged 10.8 boards while missing eight games with an ankle injury.
Similarly, Claxton averaged 10.5 rebounds off the glass, while Simmons sat on the bench in 42 games.
Right now, Simmons is carefully working his way back from injury and they are trying to find a balance. Claxton continues to average a high 10.2 boards, while Simmons averages 5.7 boards.
Still, Simmons has shed some weight on Claxton since his return, giving the big man more rest than usual.
The average playing time for the center right now is 28.32 minutes per game, which is shorter than the average playing time of 33.8 minutes in the 14 games (including 38 minutes in a row) before Simmons returns on January 29th against the Jazz.
Darik Whitehead (stress reaction in left shin), Noah Clowney (G League transfer), Keon Johnson (two-way) and Jalen Martin (two-way) have all been ruled out for Saturday’s game against the Timberwolves.
