Nic Claxton raises his game and impresses Nets
Nets center Nic Claxton, right, dunks against Jazz center Walker Kessler during the first half of an NBA game Friday in Salt Lake City. Credit: AP/Rick Bowmer
PHILADELPHIA — Nic Claxton may be having a breakout season, but as of Wednesday morning he hadn’t done enough to catch the attention of the Philadelphia 76ers.
That, at least, was the take-away from the decidedly dismissive answer power forward Montrezl Harrell gave at his team’s shoot around hours before the 76ers hosted the Nets Wednesday night. When asked what he thought about the way Claxton had raised his game, Harrell paused and raised his eyebrows.
“I don’t know anything about that,” Harrell said. “You’re talking about a guy who steps up, but at the same time Kyrie Irving is the head of that snake. If Kevin Durant was there, it would be those two. It’s good that he’s playing well and stuff like that. Cool. But he’s not the focal point of our defense. [He’s not] who we’re trying to take away.
“We know the head of the engine is through Kyrie, and everything they’ve been doing since KD’s been out there has been through Kyrie. So Kudos to [Claxton], but at the same time, brother, that’s not the focus of my lock-in. I’m just going to come out and make sure Kyrie isn’t getting downhill, make sure he isn’t creating for his guys and make sure he isn’t causing a whole lot of havoc in order to get Claxton open.”
When asked about Harrell’s comments before the game, Claxton broke into a smile.
“I just want to know what he’s doing this year, what his resume is this year and what he’s doing this season,” Claxton said. “It definitely adds a little more fuel to the fire, so I’m going to go out there and do what I do and have some fun. We’ll see what happens.”
Harrell likely would have played some big minutes if Joel Embiid had not been able to go. Harrell, a nine-year veteran, entered Wednesday’s game averaging 6.1 points and 13.0 minutes.
Claxton, in his first year as a starter, is having his strongest season to date. He had the best game of his career on Sunday against Golden State. Claxton had career highs of 24 points and 15 rebounds. He also blocked three shots, making it the 12th consecutive game in which he has rejected at least three shots.
Claxton has a chance to earn his first all-defensive selection of the year this season as he had developed into one of the best shot blockers in the league. Entering Wednesday night, Claxton was the league leader in blocks with an average of 2.7 per game.
Durant has been impressed with the way Claxton, a first-year full-time starter, has “seized the moment.”
“He understands what he has to do to be an impact player every night,” Durant said Tuesday. “Once you figure out your role, the NBA is pretty simple if you put in your work every day and that’s what he does. . . . So, he’s taken that opportunity and seized the moment and is going out there and playing great ball. That consistency is something he’s been trying to build the last couple of years. And you’re seeing it right now.”
What impresses Nets coach Jacque Vaughn is that Claxton has continued to be aggressive down the stretch, although, he is not the most dependable free-throw shooter. Vaughn said being in those pressure situations where he stays in at the end of tight games will help him down the road.
“Yeah, that’s mental part of it, that mental and physical,” Vaughn said. “This is great for Nic, because he’s going to be counted on and when the playoffs come around. And if a team wants to use that strategy, he’ll continue to gain confidence in getting to the line and shooting. So we kept him out there. He’ll continue to be out there if a team wants to take that strategy.”
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
