Although Nic Claxton only plays for the Brooklyn Nets whenever DeAndre Jordan is injured, the rookie has received quite a bit of praise from his teammates throughout the season.
Spencer Dinwiddie thinks Claxton is one of the most talented players on the roster. The rookie showed signs of that being the case in Saturday’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, when he scored 14 points on 7-for-12 shooting, grabbed six rebounds and blocked three shots all in the span of 19 minutes.
Kenny Atkinson is all in on Claxton, as well. But the rookie still has some things he needs to work on in order to reach his full potential, as Brooklyn’s head coach expressed following Saturday’s loss:
He’s gonna be really good in this league. I hope I don’t say that about every single guy that’s on our roster, but he’s got something extra. He’s a really fast athlete who’s got great hands. He’s a quick reactor, quick jumper. He’s got a knack for the game, great instincts. And then he plays incredibly hard He’s working on his strength. (Once) he gets his strength and gets his legs under him, he’s going to be a heck of a player for us.
With Jordan set to have his injured finger check out this week, Claxton should have another opportunity to log serious minutes in Brooklyn on Monday when the Philadelphia 76ers come to Barclays Center.