The waiting game is over. Kyrie Irving and Caris LeVert are back on the court, and the Brooklyn Nets are back to having the full array of backcourt options that were available to them back on opening night.
LeVert was forced out with a thumb injury two games before a shoulder impingement sidelined Irving. In their first 18 games without the pair, the Nets went 12-6, but a seven-game losing streak followed. LeVert returned on Jan. 4 against Toronto and Irving four games later in Sunday night’s win over the Hawks.
Call it a reset, an opportunity to move forward with the team these players expected to have for the rest of the season.
“A little bit of new energy,” said LeVert. “When you come off an injury, you're kind of more excited to play the game, as opposed to just playing it every single day. It's kind of like just new energy. So I think Ky felt that yesterday, and he had a great game, obviously.”
Irving made a spectacular return, hitting 10-of-11 shots for 21 points and making it all look easy in the 108-86 rout of Atlanta.
“Great tempo, great flow. Didn’t force stuff,” said head coach Kenny Atkinson. “Interacted well with his teammates, and not just to play, but the verbal exchanges on the bench. I think it helped our confidence obviously him playing well, but him just being around the group. I know it helped my confidence as a coach. Things seemed to work a little better. But the spirit was right. I think sometimes when guys are out they try to really, really force things and to get back on track, back to feeling where they’re really contributing. He just had a nice flow about himself, nice tempo, and that really helped the team.”
LeVert scored 13 points and Dinwiddie had eight assists in the win. But things weren’t exactly the same. Dinwiddie, who was the NBA’s 15th-leading scorer in Irving’s absence, remained in the starting lineup. He had previously come off the bench in the first 11 games of the season, while Levert started the first nine games before the injury.
It’s all part of a still-evolving mix and the Nets have plenty of options to look at, including playing the trio together.
“There’s just certain things he understands,” said Atkinson of Irving. “And also him understanding that there has to be some sharing out there. And I thought he did a great job getting everybody involved, and like I said after the game, when a guy’s been out a long time – especially a guy with that kind of talent and that kind of scoring talent – he’s going to really try to force it. And I thought the flow was great. I think that helped Spencer, I think it helped Joe (Harris), I think it helped everybody. So the fact that his IQ is so high, that helps a lot. And then Spencer also understanding that his role’s changed a little and understanding what that looks like. So I think we’ll get better with time, though. I think time together will breed even better chemistry.”
One piece the Nets are trying to balance is utilizing Irving as an off-the-ball threat, without minimizing his elite ability in one-one-one situations. Irving has shot 39.9 percent or higher on catch-and shoot 3-pointers in four of the last five seasons. And utilizing Dinwiddie as a lead ball-handler at times can ease the pressure on Irving.
“So it’s not always dribbling it up,” said Atkinson. “Like tomorrow night (against Utah) they’ll have Royce O’Neal on him, right? And he’s going to pick him up fullcourt, and wear him down. If you can get him off the ball sometimes on off-ball screens it will help. We can also do that. Side out-of-bounds, out of timeouts, just keep finding areas where there’s a balance there.”
As for LeVert, he and Atkinson both said starting or coming off the bench is a non-issue. The Nets eased him back into the lineup upon his return, building up his minutes and holding him out of the front end of a back-to-back last week in what would have been his second game back.
Since his return, LeVert is shooting 33.3 percent overall and 35.3 percent from 3-point range, but that does include a 20-point game against Oklahoma City and a pair of clutch 3-pointers — including the go-ahead shot — that helped lift the Nets over Miami on Friday night.
“I think the numbers will get better. His energy and his, how hard he plays, there’s no agenda there,” said Atkinson. “It’s just, I’m coming out, I’m gonna play hard as heck and I’m gonna attack. There’s no fear. It’s just an incredible injection of energy. Our activity on both ends goes up. I don’t know, if you had a meter what that looks like, but it goes up and within that, there’s some mistakes and there’s some missed shots, but we’ll live with that. I think it’s been a big injection of energy and his dynamic play is a big help.”
FANS’ FAREWELL TO CARTER
During Sunday’s game against Atlanta, the Brooklyn crowd offered a series of chants and tributes to former Net Vince Carter, who was making his final appearance visiting the Nets before he retires at the end of the season. Carter is third in total points in Nets history and third in scoring average, though his 23.6 points per game are the highest in the franchise’s NBA era. He’s also third in 3-point field goals made. Acquired in December 2004, Carter made three All-Star Game appearances as a Net.
“It’s always great to receive a standing ovation coming into or checking out of the game,” said Carter. “It’s always extra special when it’s a team I’ve played for before. This whole trip, when I say this whole trip I mean throughout the season, I’ve tried to imagine how I would react or feel in these different moments, and I’ll tell you what I thought and what happened was totally different. So now I just let it happen organically and enjoy the moment. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster this year. People showing love has been great. For all these years you go there and you’re their opponent and they’re booing you. Obviously to come back here, and some of the other stops I’ve played for, and to receive a standing ovation one last time is great.”
ABOUT THE JAZZ
The Nets dropped their first meeting of the season with the Jazz, 119-114 in Utah on Nov. 12. Utah is tied for second in the Western Conference with a 27-12 record after winning its last nine games and 14 of its last 15 after a 13-11 start.
The Jazz are first in the NBA in 3-point percentage (39.0), eighth in defensive rating (106.1), 11th in offensive rating (110.1), and eighth in net rating (4.0). Utah is 16th in rebounding with 45.5 per game (the Nets are second with 48.9) but there’s a big discrepancy in how the Jazz hit the boards; they’re fourth in defensive rebounding (36.8) but last in offensive rebounding (8.7).
Since Dec. 11, the span in which the Jazz have won 14 of 15, they’re first in offensive rating (118.4), first in field goal percentage (50.1) and first in 3-point field goal percentage (40.5).
Rudy Gobert is second in the league in rebounding (14.4) and averages 14.8 points and 1.9 blocks per game. Georges Niang (46.3 percent) and Royce O’Neale (45.7 percent) are fourth and fifth in the NBA in 3-point percentage, respectively.
Donovan Mitchell leads Utah with 24.2 points per game and former Net Bojan Bogdanovic is averaging 21.0 points while shooting 41.5 percent from 3-point range.