I write the introduction last. We\u2019re already at 2000 words. Let\u2019s get to it.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re starting with Wolf because Head Coach Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez gave his most insightful answer of the season in response to a question about Wolf. Specifically, James Herbert<\/a> of CBS Sports asked Fern\u00e1ndez how he keeps directives clear when coaching a player who can do so many things \u2014 initiating the offense, posting up, attacking mismatches, playing off the catch.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a good question, because what we cannot do is like, get caught into the whole universe, right? Because otherwise, it\u2019s not specific enough. And we have to give him clarity, especially when you go through the NBA season and the games keep coming, you can get lost in it. And I think right now for him, it\u2019s — not to get into details — but we usually have three goals for each guy and how we\u2019re gonna get there and how we see them. Like, their KPIs on their games, so whatever numbers come reinforce what the player development plan is.\u201d<\/p>\n But Fern\u00e1ndez did touch on the details, outlining three immediate areas of improvement for Wolf: Finishing at the rim, a readiness to catch-and-shoot, and \u201cplaymaking efficiency\u201d (\u201cRight now, the tendencies are, you know, dribble right away, dribble multiple times. And he sees the floor very well, he\u2019s a good passer, but he hasn\u2019t been an efficient playmaker, so we\u2019re working on that.\u201d)<\/p>\n Keen observers will realize those three traits constitute, like, nearly the whole offensive end. Now that Wolf is no longer making every three (4-of-his-last-25), his offense has been rough. Let\u2019s just focus on the first area Fern\u00e1ndez mentioned; right now, the 6\u201911\u201d 21-year-old is shooting 59% at the rim and 42% from two as a whole<\/a>, two poor marks.<\/p>\n He\u2019s been in the rotation for a little over a month, so this is by no means a definitive sample. But much of Wolf\u2019s scoring projection hinges on this area of the court. In one season<\/a> at Michigan, Wolf shot 57% from two (63% at the rim), but less than 30% of his makes were assisted. Of course he\u2019ll need to make threes, but to believe in Wolf as a big-time NBA player, you believe be taking all sorts of defenders to the paint and scoring.<\/p>\n Scoring three straight buckets over Alex Sarr\u2026<\/p>\n \u2026is the most encouraging sequence of his rookie season, particularly because it came after a rough stretch for the #27 overall pick.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the part that doesn\u2019t concern me is I\u2019m getting to all my spots,\u201d said Wolf at practice. \u201cAnd if I weren\u2019t, that\u2019d be concerning, but I\u2019m getting to all my spots, and I feel like I\u2019m playing with great pace and at ease. I mean, I look at all these finishes, and I\u2019m extremely capable of making them all and I know they\u2019re gonna eventually start falling \u2026 it\u2019s just on me to finish, and that means trying to dunk more and just trying to be more explosive toward the basket, as opposed to fading away from contact.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, that\u2019s easier said that done. The day after his comments, Jabari Smith Jr. blocked a dunk attempt\u2026<\/p>\n Wolf does have a varied skillset, but that doesn\u2019t matter much if he\u2019s a jack of all trades, master of none player. While he has barely a month of real NBA ball under his belt, it is his age-21 season. Fern\u00e1ndez and the Nets believe in him, and he\u2019ll get ample opportunity; hopefully we see a consistent scoring area emerge this season.<\/p>\n The first order of business, though: Wolf needs to stop passing up open catch-and-shoot threes just because he\u2019s in a bit of a slump. (He can look at Noah Clowney to see how much defenders respect pure volume.)<\/p>\n The Brooklyn Nets are the youngest team (by average age) in the NBA this season. They are also one of the slowest. Cleaning the Glass estimates that just 14.4% of their offensive possessions start with a transition play, the fifth-lowest mark in the league. The Nets couldn\u2019t get a rebound for the first six weeks of the season, and frankly, their transition possessions were often disastrous, speaking to the relative lack of talent Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez is operating with.<\/p>\n Even with an improved defense, the head coach was reluctant to loosen the reins: \u201cWith the better rebounding, we saw an increase of opportunities, the problem was the amount of turnovers that happened in transition. So, those are the things that we have to work on. We have to work on decision-making, you know, two-on-ones, three-on-twos, whatever the case may be when you have numbers going into the break. And we haven\u2019t been good at all.\u201d<\/p>\n However, the Nets are running at a league-average rate since December 1st. The rookies all benefit from those opportunities, but nobody more than Drake Powell, as we see on this second play here\u2026<\/p>\n Not much has changed since I wrote this a month ago: \u201cPowell has a pretty odd offensive profile overall. For someone who doesn\u2019t handle the ball a ton, he turns it over a bunch, but he\u2019s shooting well from every spot on the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t surprising for a player who had one of the lowest usage rates of all-time for a first-round draft pick; it\u2019s tough to be upset at those long stretches where Powell disappears into the corner. Currently, he\u2019s only comfortable attacking 1-on-1 matchups, so when help defenders appear in gaps, Powell is eager to give it up.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t blame him: He\u2019s only averaging one turnover a game, but those account for 15% of his possessions, about the same number as Wolf, per Cleaning the Glass. Fern\u00e1ndez has talked about upping Powell\u2019s aggression, but outside of playing more in transition, I\u2019m not sure how they do that.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s Powell on his short-term focus: \u201cI think just continue to make a quick decisions, doing that on a consistent basis. I think that that can help my overall growth.\u201d<\/p>\n So, yeah, it\u2019s a work in progress.<\/p>\n Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez has been in a pretty good mood over the past five weeks or so, coinciding with the Nets\u2019 best stretch of basketball since he\u2019s been in Brooklyn. But while walking off the floor after a loss to the Houston Rockets, Fern\u00e1ndez was seen talking to Nolan Traore, and it was a bit jarring to hear him speak so candidly about their conversation in postgame.<\/p>\n \u201cI need him to use his superpowers and touch the paint,\u201d he said. \u201cIt felt like he got caught shooting the unders, and a lot of times, they\u2019re going to go under because that\u2019s what they want you to do. And if you keep shooting it and missing, then, you know \u2014 sometimes if you keep doing the same thing and seeing the same results, I think that\u2019s the definition of insanity \u2026 I\u2019m okay with a pull-up three. I don\u2019t love it, because he hasn\u2019t shown that he can make it consistently. He can shoot as many catch-and-shoot threes as he wants, but I just didn\u2019t think he played the game the way I wanted to play the game.\u201d<\/p>\n Jordi\u2019s reaction to the second one is just great\u2026<\/p>\n Fern\u00e1ndez is right, to be clear. Traore\u2019s catch-and-shoot numbers with Saint-Quentin were actually pretty decent, but the French guard could not make a pull-up to save his life. That\u2019s mostly been the case with both Brooklyn and Long Island for Traore; he\u2019s made a couple more pull-ups in the G League, but it\u2019s really the spot-up opportunities that have been fruitful.<\/p>\n