T.J. Warren lastly made his long-awaited return to an NBA court docket on Friday. Now what’s in entrance of him?
How will the Nets use him, and what does the oft-injured veteran ahead deliver to the workforce?
“Simply effort,” Warren stated. “My skill to be versatile on the market, be a two-way participant, one thing I took delight in since coming into the NBA, having the ability to guard a number of guys. And simply be capable of be that three-level scorer on the identical time and simply attempt to feed off guys to simply play laborious, attempting to be that contagious effort man.
“Simply being aggressive once I go on the market, taking stress off the fellows and simply being myself. I may all the time rating on this league, so simply staying aggressive in addition to take delight in defending. Since I got here within the league I heard the phrase two-way, two-way, two-way, so I simply wish to be a type of guys, an entire participant on each ends giving effort. So simply take delight in being a two-way participant.”
Warren’s look within the Nets’ 114-105 win over the Raptors on Friday was his first NBA motion in 703 days. His earlier recreation was on Dec. 29, 2020, and the ahead primarily missed the previous two seasons rehabbing from a number of surgical procedures on his left foot to repair two stress fractures. He’s anticipated to be tremendous and to play Sunday towards the Celtics.
“I had no considerations mentally with my foot. I put in a whole lot of work to get again up to now. I used to be tremendous assured in the way in which I used to be feeling, the way in which I used to be transferring,” Warren stated. “I used to be transferring fairly good. Solely get higher from right here.”
Regardless of attempting to handle expectations, Warren had 10 factors on 5-for-11 capturing and added 4 rebounds in his return, wanting like he’d by no means left. His 16:38 stint — along with his mom Althea among the many sellout Barclays Heart crowd — represented the emotional capstone of a two-year struggle to get again.
“I’ve been speaking to my mother loads. She’s been retaining me emotionally in sync,” Warren stated. “Household and associates, they’ve been in my nook by means of the ups and downs the previous two years. Me simply being out of sight, out of thoughts — [people] questioning ‘The place’s T.J. The place’s T.J.?’ — simply know I used to be actually working behind the scenes to get up to now.”
However now that he’s right here, what can he present?
Nets normal supervisor Sean Marks’ rebuilding was largely carried out by hitting on low-risk reclamation tasks. Warren may very well be subsequent, after he signed a minimal contract.
Warren averaged 19.6, 18.0 and 19.8 factors in his final three wholesome seasons. The ultimate of these got here on splits of 53.6 % subject aim, 40.3 3-point and 81.9 foul capturing for a Pacers workforce that completed fourth within the Japanese Convention in 2019-20. Including in his three-level scoring and his 6-foot-8, 220-pound body may make him a steal.
“Total, simply the bodily, larger physique that you could put on the market: That’s the rapid piece,” coach Jacque Vaughn stated. “We will couple him with larger lineups or smaller lineups, so that basically helps — his skill to simply rating the basketball.
“He’s a scorer. He’s began to stretch his recreation to three, which, early in his profession, he didn’t try this. His skill to hit little runners and fadeaways and touch-up pictures. … On the finish of the day he can rating the basketball, and we’ll attempt to put him in positions the place he can suppose instinctively and simply play.”
Warren doesn’t depend on uncooked athleticism as a lot as fixed movement and savvy reducing. Stretching his vary out to the 3-point arc takes him to a different degree, and makes him an ideal complement to — and backup for — Kevin Durant.
Durant got here into Saturday main the NBA in minutes (882), with Royce O’Neale No. 2 (855). Warren may ease the burden on each.
“We’ve needed to play Kevin extra minutes than we’ve needed to,” Vaughn stated. “As we proceed to get folks again into the fold, it actually does give us some flexibility to play totally different lineups. So we’ll attempt T.J. with [Durant] and we’ll attempt him with out him. However he'll hopefully — as he catches as much as the velocity of the sport and his conditioning — give us the power to play him in a lineup the place Kevin can relaxation.”
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