Ever since shopping for out Ben Simmons, the Nets have had a backup level guard drawback. And an unlikely answer has emerged to unravel it.
For his first two NBA seasons in Portland, Trendon Watford was a backup massive man. After they waived him, he wasn’t even that.
However in his second season with the Nets, he has emerged as one thing unexpected — a 6-foot-9, 240-pound bully-ball ball handler. They usually’re relishing it virtually as a lot as he’s.
“He helps you win,” Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernández stated earlier than Watford had 11 factors, seven rebounds and three assists in 23 minutes of the Nets’ 107-99 loss to the Wizards on Monday. “And he does that because he’s able to score, but also able to handle and playmake. He can play four positions, post up, and make threes. So all those things are super valuable at his size and position. He’s another guy that I’m very happy with. You can see in those 20 games [he’s played], we’ve been really good with him on the court.”
Higher than may’ve been anticipated.
Getting into play Monday, the Nets have been 9-27 this season with out Watford, however in these aforementioned 20 video games they’ve gone a stunning 12-8.
The most recent instance of that was Saturday’s victory in Philadelphia, when place to begin guard D’Angelo Russell was sidelined. Watford stepped into the breach with 16 factors and 6 assists, scoring 11 within the fourth quarter.
Russell was out once more Monday in Washington with a sprained ankle, and Watford got here into the Wizards tilt averaging 14.4 factors and three.6 assists on 54.9 % capturing within the 5 video games since Simmons’ departure.
He recorded 11 factors, seven rebounds, and three assists towards the Wizards.
“I’m having fun, just being able to play on-ball and do different things and use my skill set to the best of my ability. Starting this year off with some injuries and now being able to pick it back up, man, it’s fun,” Watford stated. “So I’m just glad. We put in a lot of work, I put in a lot of work, and now it’s just good to see it paying off.”
It’s a far cry from his time in Portland, when his playmaking was shackled and he was a little-used middle.
“It’s funny because when he was in Portland, we played him plenty of times, and we were just like, ‘Oh, he’s a 5-man. He’s not the tallest, but he’s a 5-man that can maybe put the ball on the ground a little bit,” Nets teammate Cam Johnson laughed. “But here he’s really found a place where he can flourish. And we encourage him to be that guy, to be his best self.”
That finest self — enjoying on a $2.7 million qualifying supply — has included utilizing that body to get into the paint and both submit smaller foes or distribute.
“[I noticed his playmaking] early. He was getting the ball, breaking guys down,” Johnson stated. “He nonetheless loves that submit up, however he does it opportunistically now. He loves that floater within the lane. I observed instantly. I used to be like, ‘They didn’t allow you to do all this a 12 months in the past!’
“[His skill set] is a unique one. And it’s best served when you give him a little bit of space and let him use that paint. It’s really nice, because it adds a different dimension to our offense that makes the defense think a little bit. It makes them think about matchups and collapsing and stuff like that. So his strides and what he’s been able to do since he got with us [are huge].”
Watford, who’s 24 and set to be an unrestricted free agent, has discovered a invaluable position.
“I think I’m one of one,” stated Watford, who patterned his recreation after greater playmakers.
“I watched a few guys when I was young. Kyle Anderson, I used to watch Slo Mo a lot. Richard Jefferson said Boris Diaw. I know back-end Boris Diaw with the Spurs, and I [didn’t] really like that comparison, so I’ve got to go look at his film when he was younger and see what he was doing. But I just try to use my versatility and do everything I can do. So shoutout to Jordi for letting me showcase it.”
