SAN ANTONIO \u2014 First, Egor D\u00ebmin, the first big brick in the Nets rebuild, showed he can shoot. Then in Friday\u2019s home opener, he proved he\u2019s not scared of the moment.<\/p>\n
The next step for D\u00ebmin in unlocking his playmaking is touching the paint. When that finally happens \u2014 and he can fully leverage his basketball IQ and court-mapping \u2014 it\u2019ll take the Nets and their prized lottery pick to another level.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s definitely something I\u2019ve got to improve in my game, getting to this new level, new physicality,\u201d D\u00ebmin said. \u201cThis is where my playmaking can be on a different level, when I get to the paint more, especially with the shooters we have.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a lot of shooters, and for me getting to the paint is an opportunity to make their lives easier and create something good for them. So that\u2019s something I\u2019m really having in focus. And I\u2019m really planning to work on it even more and trying to adjust myself so I can be able to do that more.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Nets taking D\u00ebmin with the No. 8 pick was panned due to assumptions a poor jumper would render him unable to play off the ball. But after a hot summer league and camp, he\u2019s 7-for-11 from deep through two games. <\/p>\n
Egor D\u00ebmin drives around Craig Porter Jr. in the second half of the Nets\u2019 loss to the Cavaliers on Oct. 24, 2025. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST<\/p>\n
The seven are tied with Keegan Murray for the third most by a rookie in their first two games in NBA history, and the 63.6 percent shooting is sixth this year among players averaging 5.5 attempts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never questioned my shot,\u201d D\u00ebmin shrugged. \u201cBack in college, I\u2019ve been shooting, and I will be shooting. So that\u2019s not something that I\u2019m really doubting.\u201d<\/p>\n
That shot with his size (6-foot-8 \u00bc, 6-10 \u00bc wingspan) gives D\u00ebmin a floor as a solid wing. Touching the paint will give him a higher ceiling as a jumbo lead guard.<\/p>\n
\u201cEgor, he\u2019s a great player, and even a better human. I\u2019m really glad we added him,\u201d Ziaire Williams said. \u201cHe\u2019s tall. Honestly, when I first saw him I\u2019m like, \u2018Damn, you\u2019re tall.\u2019 Great size, plays the right way. And \u2026 he\u2019s poised, man.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited to see his future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Egor D\u00ebmin shoots a 3-pointer in the second half of the Nets\u2019 loss to the Cavaliers. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST<\/p>\n
D\u00ebmin comes into Sunday\u2019s tilt at the Spurs averaging 11.5 points, 5.5 boards and three assists \u2014 albeit with too many turnovers and too few drives.<\/p>\n
He hasn\u2019t taken a single 2-pointer this season. From summer league on, he\u2019s a scalding 19-of-37 from deep, but just 2-of-6 inside the arc.<\/p>\n
Bulk will help. So will ballhandling. But most of all, D\u00ebmin said it\u2019s a matter of bravery, using the word courage.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s everything, overall. Mentality is a big part of it, too, how aggressive I am mentally,\u201d D\u00ebmin said. \u201cFor now, I wish I was more aggressive putting pressure on the rim. That\u2019s what I\u2019m missing in my game right now, those last two games.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd this is where it\u2019s going to open so much more opportunities for all of us \u2014 for me personally and for my teammates. That\u2019s something I\u2019ve got to get together physicality-wise, technical-wise and mentally.\u201d<\/p>\n
That courage helped D\u00ebmin on Friday vs. Cleveland, when he played his first clutch minutes in the NBA.<\/p>\n
Tyrese Proctor drives into Egor D\u00ebmin during the first half of the Nets\u2019 loss to the Cavaliers. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST<\/p>\n
Scoreless through three quarters, he had nine in the fourth on 3-of-5 from deep to help the Nets cut what had been a 25-point deficit to one.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s an amazing experience, to have a chance to play in those clutch minutes against a team like Cleveland,\u201d D\u00ebmin said. \u201cIt\u2019s about learning how to fight back.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, it was important to really understand how to approach these types of situations.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFollow all the basketball buzz in Brooklyn\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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\u201cI didn\u2019t really feel nervous; nerves aren\u2019t really helping you at this point. Especially when we got to this run at the end, because when we do things and it\u2019s successful, you start feeling better. You just start feeling the rhythm of the game, the fans are cheering, and it\u2019s more courage.\u201d<\/p>\n
The courage to make a rare drive-and-kick in that late run, and it resulted in a Williams 3 to cut the deficit to five with 5:18 left. And D\u00ebmin hit a 3 of his own to cut it to one with 3:48 to play, drawing the loudest roar of the night.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was real great. Staying composed,\u201d Cam Thomas said. \u201cI\u2019m glad we have him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Nets have every reason to be happy with their lottery pick. Once he starts driving, they\u2019ll be ecstatic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2014 First, Egor D\u00ebmin, the first big brick in the Nets rebuild, showed he can shoot.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16912,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,355,99,5235,21,9,24,63,319],"class_list":{"0":"post-16911","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn","8":"tag-brooklyn","9":"tag-brooklyn-headlines","10":"tag-brooklyn-nets","11":"tag-brooklyn-news","12":"tag-egor-demin","13":"tag-nba","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-nyc","17":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16911\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}