Tag: Chris Chiozza

How Kevin Durant’s recovery has allowed him to reach a new level in training camp

Kevin Durant is already showing some major differences in his game at the Brooklyn Nets’ training camp.

Well before the NBA went on hiatus, Kevin Durant had gotten back to playing a little bit. He’d done three-on-three work with some of his Nets teammates who weren’t logging major minutes right around when the calendar flipped from 2019 to 2020.

While the superstar forward is physically cleared to make his Nets debut in the preseason and on opening night against the Golden State Warriors, a major injury can also have a significantly lingering impact in more ways than one — specifically, on an athlete’s mentality. But based on what Brooklyn guard Chris Chiozza has seen, it appears that won’t be an issue for Durant.

“Now you can tell he’s not afraid of creating contact and getting to whatever move he wants,” Chiozza said to reporters on a Zoom call Thursday. “The extra-work group, he was still coming back. Wasn’t sure exactly how healthy he was.”

“Was trying to feel out the contact, how physical to be with him and everything. But now, you can tell he’s back. He’s creating the contact. He’s doing what he wants to do.”

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Nets re-sign guard Chris Chiozza

Chris Chiozza stuck with the Nets for the Disney bubble after signing with Brooklyn as a two-way player in 2019-20.

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Chris Chiozza is back in a Brooklyn Nets uniform. The team announced on Tuesday the guard has re-signed with the team.

Although the Nets had previously extended the guard a qualifying offer to Chiozza, his future with the team was in question when the Nets re-signed Tyler Johnson ahead of training camp — who showed a lot in his short stint with Brooklyn after signing with the team ahead of the Disney bubble.

Along with Johnson, Chiozza re-joins a Nets roster that features Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert, Landry Shamet, Bruce Brown, Joe Harris and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot at the guard position.

In his time with the Nets last season, Chiozza shot 42.5% from the floor and 35.7% from beyond the arc, averaging 6.4 points per game, 3.1 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game while playing 15.4 minutes a night. Along with his 18 games at the NBA level, Chiozza played in 10 games for Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets.

Report: Nets extend Chris Chiozza qualifying offer

Chris Chiozza has carved out himself a spot in Brooklyn and has the chance to stay with the Nets for 2020-21.

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While Garrett Temple appears to be on his way out of Brooklyn, it looks like Chris Chiozza still has a spot with the Nets — should he want to stick around.

The Nets presented Chiozza with a qualifying offer on Thursday, turning the point guard into a restricted free agent, per Michael Scotto of USA TODAY SMG’s HoopsHype.

Brooklyn now has the capability to match any other offer extended to Chiozza.

The point guard joined the Brooklyn Nets organization back in January as a two-way guard. He had previously been with the Washington Wizards’ G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go.

In his 18 games with the Nets at the NBA level, Chiozza averaged 6.4 points, 3.1 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game while playing 15.4 minutes a night. He also shot 42.5% from the floor in 2019-20, 35.7% from 3-point territory.

RELATED: Garrett Temple now a free agent with Nets declining team option

RELATED: Landry Shamet, Bruce Brown additions address different needs for Nets

Jamal Crawford remains unavailable for start of 2020 NBA Playoffs

Chris Chiozza and Donta Hall are both good to go for the Brooklyn Nets to start the 2020 NBA Playoffs.

Jamal Crawford has only been able to log five minutes while inside the Disney bubble thanks to a left hamstring strain he suffered in his Brooklyn Nets debut against the Milwaukee Bucks nearly two weeks ago.

Nets fans won’t see the veteran guard return to the floor on Monday. Brooklyn has ruled Crawford out for Game 1 of the Nets’ first-round matchup against the Toronto Raptors.

Chris Chiozza (right adductor tightness) and Donta Hall (right ankle sprain) missed the Nets’ final game of seeding play alongside Crawford. However, Chiozza and Hall were not included in Brooklyn’s status report update on Saturday leading up to the start of the 2020 NBA Playoffs.

The Nets and Raptors play the first game of the Eastern Conference portion of the 2020 NBA Playoffs on Monday at 4 p.m.

RELATED: Kyrie Irving keeping tabs on Nets’ success from a distance

RELATED: Spread, line for Nets’ Game 1 matchup with Raptors

Caris LeVert, Joe Harris and Jarrett Allen removed from injury report

Chris Chiozza and Donta Hall may not be available for the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday against the Portland Trail Blazers.

After taking Tuesday’s game against the Orlando Magic off to manage their injuries, Caris LeVert, Joe Harris and Jarrett Allen were all removed from the Brooklyn Nets’ injury report on Wednesday ahead of the team’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday.

Garrett Temple, who at out Tuesday’s game to get some rest, has also been removed from the status report.

However, Jamal Crawford will remain out with a left hamstring strain — and there have been other names added to Brooklyn’s injury report.

Chris Chiozza left Tuesday’s win over the Magic early with right adductor tightness. There has been no change in his diagnosis, and he is questionable against the Blazers.

Lastly, Donta Hall may not be available against the Blazers, either. He is questionable with a right ankle sprain.

Thursday’s game between the Nets and Blazers is the last seeding game for both teams. Tip-off is at 9 p.m.

Jeremiah Martin among Nets to set a career-high vs. Magic

Dzanan Musa and Chris Chiozza both set career-highs in the Nets’ win over the Orlando Magic, and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot tied one of his.

With Caris LeVert, Joe Harris, Jarrett Allen, Garrett Temple and Jamal Crawford all unavailable for the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, Jacque Vaughn needed players who don’t normally receive a ton of minutes to step up against the Magic — and they did.

Not only did Brooklyn win 108-96, but multiple Nets also set career highs in their win over the Magic, which also happened to be their only win over Orlando in four tries this season.

Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot was the first to set a career-high in the win. He scored 17 of his 24 points in the first quarter. That’s the most he’s ever scored in the opening quarter of a game, and he tied his career-high for points in any quarter (he also scored 17 in the fourth quarter against the Magic on July 31.)

Jeremiah Martin tied Luwawu-Cabarrot’s overall output, finishing with 24 points, as well. With that, the rookie set a new NBA career-high in points, breaking the personal record he set against the Celtics on August 5 (20 points).

Dzanan Musa set two career-highs in the win with his 17 points and six assists. His previous career-high in points (14) came against the Dallas Mavericks in January of 2019 — this is also the first time Musa has cracked double-digits this season. Musa’s previous career-high in assists (five) came in November of 2018 against the Chicago Bulls.

Chris Chiozza also set a record for steals in a game with four. He’d previously logged two steals in a single contest on four separate occasions.

Nets clinch playoff berth, Jarrett Allen sets career-high

Credit: Ashley Landis/Pool Photo-USA TODAY Sports

For the second time in as many seasons, the Brooklyn Nets are going to the postseason.

The Nets clinched their 2020 NBA Playoffs berth with their 119-106 win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday.

In the process of securing a playoff spot, several members of Brooklyn’s roster had impressive games — Jarrett Allen’s performance being chief among them.

The big man set a new career-high in assists, tallying eighth against Sacramento. His previous career-high in a game was six.

Allen also logged his 28th double-double of 2019-20 (11 rebounds). Between the previous two seasons, Allen had 28 double-doubles in total.

Allen is the first Nets center to reach 17 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in a game in franchise history.

Joe Harris finished with 21 points, knocking down five 3-pointers. He has now drained a shot from beyond the arc in 58 consecutive games. He’s three games away from tying D’Angelo Russell’s franchise record (61 games).

 

Caris LeVert led the Nets with 22 points.

Chris Chiozza (14 points), Tyler Johnson (14), Garrett Temple (12) and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (10) each finished in double figures, as well

The Nets get back to work on Sunday at 9 p.m. when they take on the Los Angeles Clippers.

Kevin Durant has been surprised by the play of two Nets teammates

Some members of the Brooklyn Nets have had big seasons this year, and Kevin Durant has taken notice.

Kevin Durant has had a lot of time to watch his Brooklyn Nets teammates battle through adversity in 2019-20. Between Kyrie Irving and Caris LeVert’s injuries and the team’s communication issues early on, then Kenny Atkinson’s departure from the franchise — never mind the NBA’s hiatus — Nets players have dealt with a lot this year.

But through that adversity, Durant has learned quite a bit about his new teammates. Some have caught his attention with the way they’ve gone about their business, one of which is LeVert, who’s now Brooklyn’s top gun down in the Disney bubble as Nets make their push toward the 2020 NBA Playoffs.

While on Elite Media Group’s RNC Radio, Durant said LeVert is one of the members of the Nets that’s surprised him the most:

He is definitely better than I thought. He’s different. He can score that thing. He can pass it. He’s quick. His thing is about being efficient, and I think that’s what you’re seeing. The shots he’s taking now, it’s like all of his lane. Not a lot of threes, a lot in the mid-range, getting to the cup. I think his IQ is what surprised me the most.

Durant singled out another one of his Nets teammates: Chris Chiozza. The two-way guard has more than proven himself to Durant.

He’s surprised me a lot. We started playing 3-on-3 once I started getting back into shape a little bit, before the pandemic hit. Then he started getting more minutes in the games and then [was] knocking down threes, just playing with pace. He’s just looked good. He looked like he belonged out there. … He really showed me that he can play in this league.

Jarrett Allen, Chris Chiozza call out fans who promised to get tattoos if Nets beat Bucks

The Brooklyn Nets pulled off the NBA’s biggest upset since the 90s on Tuesday when they beat the Milwaukee Bucks.

Chris Chiozza had himself a big day on Tuesday as part of the Brooklyn Nets’ miraculous 119-116 upset victory — the NBA’s biggest in at least 25 years — over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday.

The point guard set a career-high in assists, reaching double digits for the first time in his NBA career. He also logged his first double-double at the NBA level, scoring 10 points in the win.

Now, Chiozza logging a double-double may come as a surprise to some, but not nearly as much of a shock as Tuesday’s finish. Most — if not all — thought Milwaukee was a lock to win.

In fact, some were so confident the Bucks were going to cruise past the Nets, they proclaimed on Twitter they’d get tattoos if the Nets won. Like this fan, who said he’d get a “Chris Chiozza tattoo” on his forearm if Brooklyn won on Tuesday:

Turns out, Chiozza saw the tweet.

Looks like the Brooklyn guard expects this NBA fan to make good on his promise.

 

Someone made a similar promise, stating “I’ll get a tattoo of Jarrett Allen on my back” if the Nets beat the Bucks.

Well, Brooklyn won, and Allen expects this Nets fan to follow through on what they tweeted:

Nets pull of huge upset against Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks

Timothe Luwawu Cabarrot and Garrett Temple took the reigns for the Nets on Tuesday, leading them past the Milwaukee Bucks.

No Caris LeVert, no Joe Harris, no Jarrett Allen — never mind no Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan, Taurean Prince or Wilson Chandler.

Still, no problem for the Brooklyn Nets; even against the best team in the Eastern Conference, the Milwaukee Bucks.

Heading into Tuesday’s matchup against Giannis Antetokounmpo and company, Brooklyn’s go-to scoring options were Tyler Johnson and Jamal Crawford. Then the Nets lost Crawford after he gave them a quick boost in his five minutes of work.

Again, not a problem for the Nets. They managed to survive the Bucks, winning 119-116.

Brooklyn’s top scorer was, once again, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot. The forward logged his second 20-point performance inside the bubble, finishing with 26 against the Bucks.

Garrett Temple finished second in scoring with 19 points, while Chris Chiozza logged the first double-double of his NBA career (10 points and 10 assists).

Johnson (11 points) Justin Anderson (11) and Kurucs (10) each finished in double figures, as well.

Donta’ Hall, who agitated Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (who only logged 16 minutes) at one point in the game, led Brooklyn with nine boards.

 

The Nets are back in action on Wednesday at 9 p.m. against the Boston Celtics.