Brooklyn Nets rookie guard Egor Demin has had an interesting rookie season as he has had some good stretches while also having some moments where he looked like the 19-year-old rookie he is. Demin has been in head coach Jordi Fernandez’s starting lineup since early in the season and it seems like he is starting to find his groove in the league.
“Nets coach Jordi Fernandez didn’t think much of Demin’s work in the Dec. 12 loss at Dallas (1-of-7, 3 points). Since then, the native of Moscow has averaged 16.8 points on 48.9% shooting, 42.4% on 3-pointers,” Steve Aschburner wrote for NBA.com in his latest rookie ladder on Wednesday. Demin had fallen out of the top-10 last week, but he made it back into Aschburner’s top-10 after his recent play.
“My teammates help me with that pretty much,” Demin said after Tuesday’s 114-106 win at the Philadelphia 76ers. “I’m really grateful for them and for their trust for me to be able to take those shots. Their screens, their passes, that’s what gets me in those positions.”
Demin came up huge Tuesday in Philadelphia as he dropped 20 points, two rebounds, and five assists while shooting 6-of-11 from the field and 5-of-9 from three-point land. Not only did Demin finish as the second-leading scorer for the Nets after forward Michael Porter Jr.’s 28 points, but the former BYU Cougar stepped up when Brooklyn needed him most as he put up 15 points and two assists in the second half.
Demin, 19, is averaging 9.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 39.6% from the field and 36.5% from behind the three-point line this season, but his recent play has been part of the reason for the Nets’ recent success. As Aschburner pointed out, Demin is averaging 16.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 48.9% from the floor and 42.4% from deep in his last four games.