MIAMI — The Caris LeVert that the Brooklyn Nets saw in February was a version the Nets have seen before, which is why Kenny Atkinson wasn’t worried about the version that took the court in January.
“I just thought it was a matter of time,” said Atkinson in Atlanta on Friday before the Nets played the Hawks. “But it wasn’t a gradual thing. It just kind of [snaps fingers]. You could say it was putting him in the starting lineup. I don’t know what the spark was. But I thought it was a big jump from where he was and kind of how he was playing and struggling a little bit to all of a sudden he went from the bottom in the basement and all of a sudden he’s in the watchtower up there. He kind of skipped some floors there. It’s usually more gradual, when a guy comes back from injury you see it slowly coming, slowly coming [snaps fingers], for him it was kind of like that.”
This is the LeVert that finishes those sometimes circuitous, often contested forays into the paint, smoothly drains 3-pointers in rhythm, and fits in some playmaking to create for teammates in the margins.
It’s the LeVert that jumped out to fast starts in each of the last two seasons before he was interrupted by injury. This time it was surgery for a torn thumb ligament that took him out of the lineup for two months before he returned in early January.
LeVert returned to a Nets rotation in flux. Atkinson brought him off the bench to build up his minutes. Kyrie Irving would return a week later. LeVert spent January searching for consistency, averaging 11.1 points in 22.7 minutes per game, all off the bench.
It was not dissimilar to last season, when LeVert returned from a three-month absence in March and took some time to get going. By the time the regular season ended, he was locked back in and was Brooklyn’s best player in the first-round playoff series against Philadelphia.
And that’s the LeVert that flourished in February. Over Brooklyn’s last 11 games dating back to Feb. 3, LeVert is averaging 22.5 points, 5.0 assists, and 4.1 rebounds in 32.8 minutes per game while shooting 40.0 percent from 3-point range.
It was in that Feb. 3 game that LeVert returned to the starting lineup with Irving — who has since been ruled out for the season due to a shoulder impingement — sidelined with a knee sprain. Atkinson elevated LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie into the starting lineup together, and LeVert relaunched with 29 points against the Suns, the first of three times in the next nine games that he would surpass his previous career-high of 27 points.
He scored 37 two games later in a one-point loss at streaking Toronto and scored 34 last week in Washington.
“He’s back on that kind of All-Star Caris that we’ve seen in stretches,” said Atkinson before the Nets played the Hawks on Friday night. “His challenge now is to do it for longer periods, obviously stay healthy. He looks great, feels great. I’m really happy with his defense. The offense, great, 34 points all that. But I think you’ve seen over this stretch here, we’ll put him on the other team’s best player, without hesitation. I told him the example, Bradley Beal. Scott Brooks said after Bradley Beal’s a great player because he’s a two-way player and I think that’s a challenge for Caris to become that two-way player where you go from a really good player in this league to a great player. He’s obviously a high-steal guy, seven deflections last game. He’s all over the place. And he’s really gotten into a nice groove defensively. In his early years, he was kind of all over the place. Tons of energy, super-competitive. I just think he’s settled into knowing the league a little bit better, knowing how to pick his spots.”
Along the way, LeVert is also averaging 2.0 steals — he had four in the win that broke the Raptors’ 15-game winning streak, six in a route of Charlotte, and another four against the Wizards. At the same time, Atkinson is increasingly relying on the rangy, 6-foot-6 swingman to cover opponents’ top guards or wings.
“I think he’s gaining experience,” said Atkinson last week. “He always had the activity and the compete level is off the charts, so he’s always had that. Now he’s understanding a little better the nuances of playing NBA defense. The fact that he’s healthy, I think that’s a big factor. I will say too, I think we’ve given him more responsibility. I think of Devin Booker, oftentimes we put him on the best player. Sometimes when you give a guy responsibility like that, ‘you’re pretty good,’ it helps. He’s gaining more confidence there, but yes, definitely improving defensively.”
On Saturday in Miami, LeVert was initially listed as questionable before the Nets played the Heat; he’d banged his right hand in Friday night’s game at Atlanta. He tested it out in warmups and took the court, to no surprise of his teammates.
“Caris has battled through a lot his entire career; this is nothing different for him,” said Joe Harris. “He’s one of our toughest players, and everybody knows that. He comes out and plays hurt. It’s one of those things where his resilience and toughness just sort of rubs off on everybody else. When you know that he’s battling through something, it’s definitely one of those things where it inspires the rest of the team.”