Landry Shamet’s career-high 30-point game against Miami on Sunday was just the latest rung in the ladder for a player who has been steadily rising through the season and is red-hot right now.
“Amazing. Amazing. We’ve been talking, just in-between games with guys being out and where he can be more aggressive, and I feel like tonight he found something,” said Kyrie Irving. “Just playing off the ball, playing with the ball in his hands, and then attacking the rim. And being able to get to open spots, so it creates some versatility for our shooters out there to be able to play the one and the two, especially Landry, and he played incredibly well tonight.”
With James Harden out of the lineup due to a hamstring strain, and with the Nets having lost Chris Chiozza as well, Shamet has been picking up a greater ball-handling role. It’s something he’s familiar with from his college experience at Wichita State, but he’s getting a better feel for managing a game while working with Irving.
“Ky’s been great,” said Shamet. “He’s taken me under his wing. Talks to me every day. Believes in me. That goes a long way, knowing your teammates believe in you, they’re taking a vested interest in you. It means a lot.”
In 38 minutes against Miami, Shamet made 7-of-12 pointers and shot 10-for-15 overall. That followed up a 20-point outing against Charlotte on Friday night in which he shot 6-for-11 from 3-point range and 7-for-14 overall. Over the last four games, Shamet is averaging 21.5 points and shooting 51.3 percent from 3-point range. He’s made at least five 3-pointers in four of his last seven games.
Over his last 15 games dating back to March 1, Shamet is making 47.9 percent of his 3-pointers on a healthy volume of 6.4 attempts per game while averaging 12.3 points in 24.9 minutes per game. For the season, Shamet has elevated his 3-point percentage to 40.6, consistent with his career average through three seasons.
“Regardless of how things are going, I’m chopping wood and carrying water every day,” said Shamet. “It gets tedious having to do the little things every day that you might not want to do, but it adds up. I trust in that. When you keep doing that, doing all the things, working on off days, watching film, asking questions and believing in myself, whatever comes from that I’m living with because I know I’m doing everything in my power to put myself in the best position. Basketball’s a funny game. Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn’t, and all you can really control is your preparation, how much work you put in and your mindset, so that’s what I’m going to keep doing.”
KYRIE’S FREE THROW STREAK
After making 6-of-6 free throws against Miami on Sunday, Kyrie Irving has made 48 consecutive free throws over his last 12 games. He is seventh in the NBA in free throw percentage, shooting 91.6 percent.
NAVIGATING INJURIES
Kevin Durant had scored Brooklyn’s first eight points on Sunday in his fifth game back from a hamstring strain that cost him 23 games, but a left thigh contusion took him out of the game midway through the first quarter. The Nets have been without James Harden for eight of the last nine games.
“The timing of everything this year has just been a telltale sign of what life is right now in terms of the uncertainty of a lot going on,” said Kyrie Irving. “Anything could happen at any moment, so we don’t want to take anything for granted. But anytime one of our teammates goes down, anytime something like that happens, it’s definitely going to take a hit for us. And he’s just gotten back. We just pray that it’s not too serious and he’s able to recover, but it definitely has a hit on our continuity at times. But we’re not making any excuses for each other. We’re all professionals, the guys that are getting minutes right now, we need them. So it’s going to turn eventually, but we’ve just got to find that continuity, that connectivity from the start of the game to the end.”
ABOUT THE PELICANS
The Hornets are 25-32 and in 11th place in the Western Conference, having dropped their last two games in overtime. The Nets won the previous meeting 139-111 at Barclays Center on April 7. New Orleans is 29th in the NBA in defensive rating. Like Brooklyn’s last two opponents, Miami and Charlotte, the Pelicans allow a lot of 3-point attempts — 37.9 per game, 27th in the league. Unlike the Heat and Hornets though, who are in the middle of the pack in 3-point percentage allowed, the Pelicans rank 29th (38.9), so they’re also 29th in opponent 3-pointers made (14.7). The Nets shot 19-for-41 (46.3 percent) in the previous meeting. New Orleans is ninth in offensive rating (114.5) and eighth in field goal percentage (47.9), but the emphasis is on 2-pointers. The Pelicans are 25th in 3-pointers attempted (30.7), 27th in 3-pointers made (10.7), and 26th in 3-point percentage. They’re second in points in the paint (53.9), third in second chance points (14.9), first in offensive rebounds (11.7) and offensive rebound percentage (30.7), third in rebounds (47.0) and first in rebound percentage (53.0). New Orleans gets to the line a lot — second in free throw attempts (26.0) and fourth in free throws made (19.2), but 28th in free throw percentage (73.8). Zion Williamson leads the Pelicans with 26.8 points per game, shooting 61.4 percent, with 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Brandon Ingram averages 24.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists.