Tag: nic claxton

Nets’ Nic Claxton discusses disappointing season heading into All-Star break

After Wednesday’s 136-86 loss at the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton how disappointing this season has been thus far.

The Brooklyn Nets head into the All-Star break with a 21-33 record and are 2.5 games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference. However, knowing that the Nets were 13-10 at one point early this season, what has happened since then has been nothing other than disappointment for the organization and the fans.

After Wednesday’s 136-86 loss at the Boston Celtics, the Nets were rightfully criticized for what looked like the team packing things in before the All-Star break officially began for them. While playing professional basketball is one of the hardest things to do that few people know about, it was still clear to anyone watching the game that Brooklyn did not play as hard as they should have.

Plenty of the Nets players have expressed a desire to make the playoffs and have even vocalized a belief that Brooklyn can make it to the postseason. However, with the team having just an 8-23 record since that 13-10 start, there are plenty of questions over how good this team can be moving forward.

Wednesday’s blowout loss at Boston, along with the postgame comments, indicate a team that is struggling to sustain any kind of winning because of issues throughout the team. Nets center Nic Claxton gave his take on what has been a disappointing season so far:

“We just got to flush it out, have short-term memory. It’s definitely been disappointing. The season has been pretty disappointing if we’re just being honest, but we just got to have short-term memory and get acclimated with the new guys coming back after the break.”

[lawrence-related id=57410,57406,57403]

Report: Nets’ Nic Claxton could be ‘more available’ than previously believed

NBA reported Marc Stein reported on Thursday that Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton could be ‘more available’ than initially believed.

The Brooklyn Nets have a lot to think about with the NBA trade deadline being less than one week from now (Feb. 8). As they continue their rebuild in a pivotal time for the franchise, it’s possible that someone unexpected could be moved.

NBA reporter Marc Stein reported via his Substack on Thursday that Nets center Nic Claxton could be “more available” for a trade than the public has been led to believe about his status. Claxton is in the final year of his rookie contract and based on his performance over the last two seasons, he is expected to command at least $20 million annually during his free-agency this summer.

Claxton has been the anchor of Brooklyn’s defense over the last two seasons and he has also shown considerable improvement in his offensive game. At the moment, Claxton’s value on the court is as a lob threat, occasional scorer in the post, and a defender who can switch onto any position as well as defend the rim at an elite level.

Stein also noted in his piece that there are “mixed signals” about what Brooklyn plans to do regarding Claxton as he approaches free-agency. Claxton, 24, is averaging 12.4 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 63.2% from the field.

[lawrence-related id=57177,57168,57169]

Nets’ Nic Claxton after facing Rudy Gobert: ‘I think I’m a great big man’

After Thursday’s 96-94 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton had some strong words for his place in the NBA.

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets have not done much winning lately as they seek to be destined for a finish outside of the play-in tournament. With that being said, one of the things that the Nets know these days is that they have a center who should be a part of their future.

“I think I’m a great big man,” Brooklyn center Nic Claxton said after Thursday’s 96-94 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Claxton had a tough task ahead of him as he went toe-to-toe with Rudy Gobert, one of the best defensive big men of this era and arguably, in NBA history. Despite the matchup, Claxton still had confidence in himself.

“Anytime I have a matchup like that, one of the quote unquote top centers in the league, I always take it personal to just go out and be the best version of myself,” Claxton said. Claxton went on to put up 16 points (8-of-10 shooting from the field), 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks in over 38 minutes of action.

While Thursday’s loss was a repeat of a common theme that has plagued the Nets lately in close games, Brooklyn was reminded of how much of a competitor Claxton is. “I’m an extremely competitive person. And, you know, I love basketball. I love to compete. So, I bring that every single night,” Claxton explained.

[lawrence-related id=57053,57050,57046]

Nets’ Nic Claxton says fourth quarter collapse was ‘definitely frustrating’

After Sunday’s 125-114 loss at the Los Angeles Clippers, Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton said the fourth-quarter collapse was frustrating.

The Brooklyn Nets are a long way from when they began this season with a 12-9 record, seemingly beating the odds through great shooting and effort. All of that has come crashing down as the team is now 17-25, meaning they have won just five of their past 21 games, including their most recent loss with a fourth-quarter collapse of seismic proportions.

In Sunday’s 125-114 loss at the Los Angeles Clippers, the Nets looked like they were going to go back to New York with a successful west coast road trip after leading Los Angeles by 18 points in the fourth quarter. However, the Clippers dominated the Nets in the period 41-15, including Los Angeles ending the game on a 22-0 run.

Heading into the fourth quarter, it was easy to assume that the Nets would end up winning the game after establishing such a cushion along with the fact that Clippers forwards Paul George and Kawhi Leonard combined for just 16 points on 6-of-25 shooting from the field through the first three quarters. However, this game turned on its head as Brooklyn could not get anything going on either end of the floor at the same time that Los Angeles finally broke through.

Nets center Nic Claxton, who had 16 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two blocks, was one of the players who helped Brooklyn dominate for most of the game. After the game, he gave his thoughts on how the loss affected him:

“Definitely frustrating. Especially in a game that we played so well towards the beginning, but you know it is what it is. Now, we got to watch the film, learn from it, and just do our best to not be in that position again.”

[lawrence-related id=56997,56994,56991]

4 trade targets Thunder should look into ahead of NBA trade deadline

4 trade targets the Thunder should look into ahead of trade deadline.

As the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline creeps closer, expect the Oklahoma City Thunder to be potential buyers for the first time in years.

After spending the last three seasons rebuilding, OKC has busted open a contention window this year with a 23-11 record led by the young trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.

Even though the Thunder will make the playoffs for the first time since 2020, don’t expect any seismic in-season trades by according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The NBA insider detailed that OKC will likely ride it out with this group but could look to make improvements on the margin.

To prepare for the trade deadline, let’s look at four Thunder targets who’d make sense as short-term commitments that could improve their depth without giving up serious trade capital.

Nets’ Nic Claxton on ending losing streak at home: ‘extremely important’

Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton said that ending their five-game losing streak at home on Friday was ‘extremely important’ to the players.

NEW YORK — Nic Claxton has been one of the steadying presences for the Brooklyn Nets this season, even as the team has experienced a few losing streaks. The Nets have hit arguably their roughest patch of the season recently so getting out of that has been one of the team’s main goals.

“It was extremely important, man,” Claxton said after putting up 23 points, 13 rebounds, and three assists in Friday’s 124-115 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, a victory that ended Brooklyn’s five-game losing streak that included a loss at the Thunder on New Year’s Eve. Coming into Friday, the Nets had lost 10 of their last 12 games in a rut that saw them plummet to ninth in the Eastern Conference standings.

“Losing those five in a row, we just needed to get that losing taste out of our mouth,” Claxton explained. “We responded. We responded tonight (Friday), our fans were with us, and we had a good performance.” Brooklyn won the first half 75-47 thanks to their incredible shooting from the field (55.3%) and from three-point land (47.6%) while holding Oklahoma City to just 13.3% from deep.

The second half was a different story as the Thunder won the final 24 minutes 68-49 thanks to a reversal of roles so to speak. Thankfully, Claxton and the Nets had enough of a cushion to steal the win and end their losing streak in front of their home crowd.

[lawrence-related id=56778,56775,56772]

Nets’ Nic Claxton says team is ‘definitely frustrated’ with recent losing

After Sunday’s 124-108 loss to the OKC Thunder, Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton admitted that the Nets are frustrated with the losing.

The Brooklyn Nets are in the midst of a three-game losing streak after their 124-108 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday. While the Nets were expected to be an average team in the NBA this season after the trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving last season, the recent losing has been hard to take for all parties involved.

In Sunday’s loss to the Thunder, it seemed to be the same old story as the ones that happened earlier this season when Brooklyn faced a tough opponent. The Nets were competitive for the first half only for the team to have a meltdown in the second half because Brooklyn started missing shots in its attempt to keep up with the opponent.

After the first half in which the Nets shot 40% from the field and 37.5% from deep, Brooklyn shot just 36% from the field and 13.6% from three-point range. It was clear that the Nets’ offense had plenty of issues that popped up, including when they are not making their threes.

Brooklyn center Nic Claxton had 15 points, 16 rebounds, and five assists, but shot 5-of-10 from the free-throw line and was a -21, the worst mark on the Nets. However, he did admit that the team is frustrated with the recent losing. This is what he said to Brian Lewis of the New York Post after the loss:

“We’re definitely frustrated. Nobody wants to lose. I hate losing, everybody hates losing. We just got to figure it out. We just can’t get used to losing. Need to figure out solutions and figure out ways to fix it.”

[lawrence-related id=56691,56688,56684]

Nets’ Nic Claxton on loss to Nuggets: ‘we’re not here for moral victories’

Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton said after the loss to the Nuggets that while the Nets aren’t here for moral victories, they played well.

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets are amidst their worst stretch of this young season to date after Friday’s 122-117 loss to the Denver Nuggets. While the Nets played as good as any fan could have asked for, they ended the night on a five-game losing streak and having lost six of their last seven games in the process.

“We’re definitely not here for moral victories,” Brooklyn center Nic Claxton said after Friday’s loss to the Nuggets after he put up 10 points, 16 rebounds, six assists, and three blocks. Claxton had a tough matchup against Denver’s Nikola Jokic, who has been considered not only one of the best centers in the NBA, but also one of the best players in the league over the past few seasons. Claxton wanted to point out that the Nets played better than they had been lately.

“Our energy was better, our effort was better, just our overall vibe,” Claxton explained. “So, that’s definitely something that we can build on going into these next few games. We took a few L’s in a row, but we just got to be consistent with our habits and play like we did tonight and we’ll have a shot against anybody.”

Despite how Brooklyn has been playing lately, they were just slight underdogs to the Nuggets which had been a surprise to many coming into the game. Over the course of the game, it was clear that the Nets were giving more effort and were also determined to end their losing streak by beating one of the best teams in the league if they were able to hit some shots.

Claxton was one of the main reasons that Brooklyn had a chance to beat Denver in the end before some miscues down the stretch allowed the Nuggets to come out of the game on top. Claxton believes that the team still has to keep its head held high. “You just gotta have short-term memory in the NBA, in sports. Just learn from it, watch the film, and be ready to go tomorrow against Detroit,” Claxton said.

[lawrence-related id=56560,56557,56551]

Nets’ Nic Claxton believes he can be one of the better two-way players in the NBA

Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton recently said that he believes that he can be one of the better two-way players in the NBA.

Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton has shown a different side of his game ever since last season when he initially showed the NBA world how good he can be. He also showed that he could be the same player whether he was playing alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving or sharing the court with Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson.

Claxton, 24, is in his fifth season in the league after being the 31st overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft out of the University of Georgia, is having a similar season to what he was doing last year. He had a slow start to this campaign after missing eight of his first nine games due to a left high-ankle sprain that he suffered in the season opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Since coming back from his ankle injury, Claxton is averaging 12.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 67.4% from the field. In a season where the Nets now sit at 13-13 after a tough five-game road trip on the west coast, Brooklyn is back home looking to string together some wins to remain in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Claxton recently sat down with Michael Scotto of HoopsHype and answered various questions about himself and the Nets. One of the questions that Claxton was asked was what his ceiling is as a player. This is how Claxton answered:

“One of the better two-way players in the league. Offensively, given the opportunity, being that guy that can go out and average around 15 points. At the end of the day, I know what I’ll hang my hat on will be on the defensive side of the ball.”

Claxton is soft-spoken, but what he says pack a punch in the way that his words show a confidence about himself that shouldn’t be a surprise given he has done recently in his career. With what Claxton has done over the past season and 26 games, he could earn himself a new contract averaging at least $20 million per year, according to what Scotto said that he was told by other NBA executives around the league.

[lawrence-related id=56510,56507,56504]

Nets’ Nic Claxton on missing IST despite beating Raptors: ‘we won the game’

Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton said that winning Tuesday’s game against the Toronto Raptors was the most important thing they could do.

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets had two goals heading into Tuesday’s game against the Toronto Raptors: win and if that happened, win by enough to make the knockout round of the In-Season Tournament. While the latter didn’t happen, the former occurred in a big and encouraging way for the Nets moving forward.

“We knew we had to have a sense of urgency,” Brooklyn starting center Nic Claxton said after putting up 15 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks in Tuesday’s 115-103 win over the Raptors. In terms of making the tournament as either the winner of Group C or as the wild card, the Nets had to win and hope that the Boston Celtics did not blow out the Chicago Bulls. Both happened much to the disappointment of the Nets and their fans.

“We needed to win by a certain amount of points, I don’t think we got to it,” Claxton explained. “At the end of the day, we won the game. That’s what matters. It was a good team win so, we’re happy we got the win.”

The Nets started Tuesday’s game slowly as neither team could make many shots in the early going and that slow start could be something that Brooklyn looks back upon if its in this situation again next season, assuming that the In-Season Tournament is happening again.

[lawrence-related id=56218,56215,56212]