Nic Claxton will get more chances to make an impact for the Nets after briefly losing his spot in the team’s big-man rotation.
LaMarcus Aldridge will miss at least another week with the hip injury that has sidelined him since March 6, meaning Claxton will continue to see minutes behind imported starting center Andre Drummond.
Claxton logged a total of 52 minutes over the first 10 games after the Feb. 10 trade that brought in Drummond, along with Seth Curry and still-inactive Ben Simmons from the 76ers for James Harden.
With Aldridge sidelined, Claxton has averaged 10.2 points on 66.7 percent shooting, with 7.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks over his past five appearances ahead of Monday’s home game against the Jazz.
“When we traded for Drummond, I thought I was getting traded. But I ended up staying, so I was happy to ride along and stay here,” the 22-year-old Claxton said Sunday. “But I’ve just gotta, like I always say, just stay the course, no matter if all three of our guys are healthy or whatever minutes I get. I just gotta be the best version of myself for our team.”
Nets coach Steve Nash was a freshman on No 15 seed Santa Clara when the Broncos pulled an upset over No. 2 Arizona in the 1993 NCAA Tournament. Nash said he was unaware that Saint Peter’s is a local team from New Jersey, but he called the 15th-seeded Peacocks’ two wins over Kentucky and Murray State “an incredible story … and what makes the college game so fun.”
Andre Drummond’s former school (UConn) lost in the first round to New Mexico State. He said he’s “not trying to watch that no more,” but he also called the Saint Peter’s story “awesome.”
On Kevin Durant being fined $25,000 after getting caught on a cell-phone video cursing at a heckling fan, Nash said, “I guess it’s just the world we live in, and guys can either not react, say nothing and not be fined or [they can] react and get fined.”