Nwaba thrives on limited time
When the Nets first signed David Nwaba to a one-year deal, I was among the first excited about the news. I wrote that Nwaba could become Brooklyn’s version of Marcus Smart: a gritty defender who makes hustle plays on both ends of the floor.
So I was among the most surprised (read: appalled) when — after injuries to both Kyrie Irving and Caris LeVert — Nwaba saw his minutes cut. In fact, he registered three DNP’s in a fourgame stretch. In the games he did play after the blowout loss in Phoenix, Nwaba never played more than six minutes.
“Just stay ready, that’s the biggest thing. Just stay ready and stay positive about the whole process,” he said about watching his minutes decline. “It’s tough, but that’s what I try to do, just stay ready.”
That all changed, though, when he played 19 minutes and finished with 10 points and two steals in Boston in Wednesday’s loss to the Celtics. Kenny Atkinson opted not to play Nwaba for the following Friday matchup against the Celtics in Brooklyn, but Nwaba saw the floor on Sunday against the Heat.
His stat line: 18 minutes, 10 points, 1 block, a steal that didn’t count, and several hustle plays on both ends of the floor. The Nets outscored the Heat by two in Nwaba’s 18 minutes — the third-highest plus-minus on the team behind Spencer Dinwiddie and Dzanan Musa, who was plus-12 in 12 minutes.
“(He was) really good, I thought today was another game where we needed his physicality,” Atkinson said of Nwaba. “He was driving the ball to the rim. He’s played well. He’s earning himself more playing time.”
Nwaba says he’s just trying to do what he can: “bring some energy, play hard, play the right way, shoot the open shots,” he says.
His improved play couldn’t have come at a better time. The Nets signed Iman Shumpert using a 16th roster spot they can only keep while Wilson Chandler serves his 25-game suspension for performance enhancing drug use. Chandler’s suspension is lifted on Dec. 15, which means the Nets have two weeks and five games to make a decision.
As Shumpert began to see extended minutes off the bench, Nwaba became a player who could potentially be cut when Chandler returns. That wouldn’t make much sense — Chandler is a four, Nwaba is a guard/ wing — and Nwaba’s play in recent games has given Atkinson something to think about.
For what it’s worth, Nwaba says the roster decision is the last thing on his mind: “I know what I bring to this team,” he said. “Whatever happens, use it as an opportunity or use it as fuel.”
Only three players have a better net rating that Nwaba in minutes they’ve played: Spencer Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince, in that order.
Nwaba deserves a real place in the Nets’ rotation, and if he continues to play the way he has, Atkinson would be doing the team a disservice by letting him stew on the bench.
“I’m just out there showing I deserve to be on the floor,” he said. “I’m not focused on (the roster decision), I’m just out there trying to help this team as much as I can.”