Nets' lack of rebounding in preseason not yet a great concern for team
The Philadelphia 76ers' Guerschon Yabusele, right, goes up for the shot against the Nets' Dorian Finney-Smith during the second half of an NBA preseason game Wednesday in Philadelphia. Credit: AP/Chris Szagola
The Nets turned the page from preseason to regular season on Sunday as they started assessing what to gather from their four warm-up games.
One glaring thing was a lack of rebounding at times. Part of that could be chalked up to injuries with centers Nic Claxton and Day’Ron Sharpe sidelined. The Nets, as a result, played smaller lineups with Dorian Finney-Smith at center and Ben Simmons defending the paint.
For coach Jordi Fernandez, it was a matter of perspective. Certainly, the Nets can address it from a technique standpoint, but with Claxton hopeful to play Wednesday at Atlanta, it might not be as great a concern yet.
“A lot of times, perimeter players have the tendency to rely on the bigs [for rebounding]. And right now, it was pretty obvious that we didn't have them, so it helped us to see it,” Fernandez said. “I think when we have them back, then we will be overall better. Because rebounding, It's not a one-man job, it’s a team job.”
It’s something other players have noticed. Cam Johnson singled it out among concerns from the preseason but also has confidence it will be shored up when the games count.
The main issue could come on the offensive end, with Sharpe out at least another month with a strained hamstring. Sharpe is the team’s best offensive rebounder, so it will take a collective effort to fill that void.
For now, it’s one thing the team is taking note of as they prepare to start the season.
“That just comes from kind of understanding where we're losing those battles,” Johnson said of the Nets’ rebounding concerns. “If there's a big, everybody [will be] coming back to help and getting other team's bigs out of the paint a little bit more.
“It's just something that I think we can definitely work on. And it’ll help us a lot.”
Nets waive Hayes, Bailey, convert Martin to two-way deal
With Saturday being the NBA deadline to waive players on non-guaranteed contracts, the Nets waived both Killian Hayes and Amari Bailey.
Hayes, a former top-10 pick in 2020, didn’t play this preseason because of a hip injury. He and Bailey likely will head to Long Island to compete in the G League.
Tyrese Martin, a 6-6 shooting guard, was awarded the Nets’ final two-way spot as the team converted his Exhibit 10 contract. Martin appeared in all four preseason games, most notably the last one when Fernandez went with a tighter rotation and played his starters longer minutes.
Martin played with the Nets during Summer League in Las Vegas. He spent last season with the Timberwolves' G League affiliate and played 16 games with the Hawks during his rookie season in 2022-23.
”This is basically, like a start of a new journey for me, a fresh start,” Martin said Sunday. “But the work's going to continue like it has been all summer to get me to this point.”
Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
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