With the Nets tipping off Wednesday against the Hornets, it’s hard to quantify just how far Egor Dëmin has come from this point a year ago as a rookie.
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Dëmin → tip → rookie
But coach Jordi Fernández’s quippy answer does speak to Dëmin’s biggest strides.
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answer → speak → strides
“Maybe ask the performance team about his weight and how much bigger his biceps is.
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biceps → ask → weight
Maybe that’s a way to quantify,” Fernández said.
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Fernández → ’ → ?
“I’m very happy with the way he’s played.
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he → ’m → way
…He sees the floor very well, and he’s done a great job getting into the [paint].”
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he → see → paint
Dëmin’s added muscle has been well documented, as has his growth from a lithe teen who struggled against NBA physicality to a more filled-out version.
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who → add → version
The second-year guard couldn’t or wouldn’t say how much stronger he’s gotten, only that he’s more ready for the rigors of the league.
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he → say → league
“That’s true.
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That → ’ → ?
There was a growth, a significant growth, in what dumbbells I’m picking up on the arm day, yeah,” Dëmin laughed.
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Dëmin → be → day
But for the Russian, it’s about more than just touching the paint or even getting to the rim.
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it → ’ → rim
It’s about knowing what to do when he gets there.
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he → ’ → what
But don’t go in there without a plan,” Fernández said.
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Fernández → go → plan
“He’s done a great job.
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He → do → job
He’s worked at it, and shown he’s way more comfortable now getting there.
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he → work → it
“When you’re 18, 19, the game goes so fast.
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game → ’re → ?
Now it slows down, because you’re more confident, you’re stronger.
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you → slow → ?
We’ve seen it in preseason — he’s just got to continue to do it in the regular season.”
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he → see → season
That regular season starts Wednesday against the visiting Hornets.
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season → start → Hornets
Dëmin will likely start on the ball, with Mikel Brown Jr. still on a minutes limit.
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Jr. → start → limit
That means Dëmin will have to not only not get turned at the point of attack, but actually have a plan once he gets in the paint.
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he → mean → paint
“I haven’t done that for a while, getting to the rim like that actively, and sometimes when I get there it’s hard to believe, where I’m like, ‘I’m actually here,’ and I almost expect something to happen,” Dëmin admitted.
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Dëmin → do → that
“So for me, realize that I’m actually a big body, so… it’s harder to defend for people, especially now.
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it → realize → people
So just having a state of mind that nobody can stop me, and just having that idea of getting there aggressively and finishing with quality and not just to show that I got to the paint.”
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I → have → paint
Joshua Jefferson (back) practiced full contact Monday and will be available vs. Charlotte.
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Jefferson → practice → Charlotte
Tyler Bilodeau will be out with a sprained shoulder.
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Bilodeau → sprain → shoulder
Fernández on having legendary soccer coach Pep Guardiola — who is also Catalan — visit during the summer: “He loves basketball, so he wanted to see the gym and the players and watch them work out.
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them → have → gym
He’s curious on how we do things, how we work here.
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we → ’ → things
And obviously I have a lot of questions for him on how he’s handled certain situations.
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he → have → situations
There’s a lot you can learn from a leader like that.
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you → ’ → that
He’s one of my favorites, so it’s always good to see him and obviously have him [here].”
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it → ’ → him
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