© Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Nets’ Nic Claxton optimistic to end ongoing slump amid ongoing team adjustments
Looking at the past few games of zigzagging progress for the Brooklyn Nets, there is an intriguing downslide of numbers coming from Nic Claxton. The Nets’ starting center saw his numbers take a significant dip, averaging just around 8.4 points and 7.1 boards in the past seven games.
Even more interesting to this decline has been Nic's shot-blocking statistics. In the said span, he is averaging a lowly single block per game, an unforeseen showing for one of the league’s imposing rim defenders.
A learning curve
Considering the head coaching change that entered the team, from Jacque Vaughn to Kevin Ollie, Claxton is giving himself a pass in the wake of his frustrating individual recent struggles as the work remains in progress in adapting to the new system.
Nic, who is in a contract year with a $9.5M expiring deal, is keeping his optimism high that he'll be able to regain his usual form without further ado.
“Right now, it’s different for everybody, the offense, the flow,” Claxton told Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “We’re not running the same exact sets that we were running. So there’s an adjustment period for everybody, including myself, and just gotta learn as fast as we can and just pick up a lot of information at once.”
Provide the needs
Ollie himself is fully aware of Claxton's slump, and the interim head coach is taking full responsibility for attempting to push the young big man back to his aggressiveness and standard production.
“Just trying to get Nic some looks,” Ollie said. “Trying to get him some dives, we can see him around a basket. Try to get him at that elbow where he can make plays. I give Nic the liberty to push the ball in transition when he has an opportunity.
“Just try to get him some more looks, and I just continue to huddle in with myself and some looks and some transition things we can do to get him going, our players turning the corner and looking for him on sprint dives and things like that. He thrives on that, and just having him get to the offensive rebounds will be good for us.”
