Nobody, not even the most optimistic Nets fan, is expecting Nic Claxton to go toe-to-toe with Joel Embiid, or handle the MVP favorite one-on-one.
But Brooklyn needs Claxton to do what he does best against Embiid. They need the spindly 23-year-old to use his mobility and athleticism against a much bigger, bruising foe if they hope to climb out of this 0-2, first-round hole in Thursday’s Game 3 at Barclays Center.
“I said to Nic he has to use his gifts and athleticism from the tip — whether that’s even winning the tip and outrunning Joel and getting up the floor,” coach Jacque Vaughn said. “He should have multiple layups because he just outruns the defense. We played small [in Game 2], that was a piece of it, but we need Nic, for sure.”
Claxton is coming off a scoreless Game 2 in Philadelphia in which he didn’t have a single block and finished minus-14. He had five points and 10 rebounds in the series opener to post a minus-20.
“Yeah, just switching it up, not being as predictive offensively, maybe playing in space a little bit more and working with my teammates to get myself involved more,” said Claxton, who would benefit from a more uptempo pace.
Spencer Dinwiddie acknowledged getting Claxton involved on offense would be key for his confidence.
“Nic typically … offensively is a beneficiary of other actions, so definitely going to try to get him going. He’s a huge part of our defense as well. We want his confidence high,” Dinwiddie said. “We do want to show him a little bit of love and we understand we need him defensively to be the type of team you want to be.”
The Nets have held James Harden to 15.5 points because they’ve kept their former star off the charity stripe.
They’ve also largely avoided fouling Embiid.
“You’re just going to jinx it,” Vaughn said jokingly. “I just think overall going into the series the fouling component, both of those two shoot free throws at a high clip. We’ve been disciplined in our approach to keep them under their season averages. You give the credit to the players for being locked into the game plan.”
Harden has gone consecutive games without a free throw for the first time since his first two playoff games as a rookie in 2010.
“[The Nets] have definitely been conscious of not fouling,” 76ers coach Doc Rivers said.
“Though I will say they did foul and statistically — this is more of a league stat than our stat — the two guys that get fouled the most in the league and it’s not called is James and Joel. The whole league. And that’s a fact.
“So yeah, they’re getting fouled, but [the Nets] also are doing a very good job of trying to keep their hands back as well. Because that’s what you’re taught when you’re playing a game. That’s what you have to do. But [Harden is] clever enough to still get you.”