How Nic Claxton Could see a Breakout Season with Egor Demin at Point Guard

Since Nic Claxton joined the Brooklyn Nets as a rookie in 2019, he has had little stability with the guards feeding him.

The main facilitators Claxton has worked with in his career are ball-dominant guards like Kyrie Irving and James Harden. With the addition of No. 8 pick Egor Demin, the pick-and-roll game between the two could be a staple.

There has been a steady decline in Claxton's production and efficiency in the past two seasons. The Nets invested heavily in the future of their guard position, and he is poised to be one of the main beneficiaries.

Pick-and-Roll Potential

Claxton was not used as much as a player with his length and athleticism should have been, but that may have been due to the lack of playmakers. His ability to finish at the rim is among the best in the league.

In 70 games last season, Claxton ranked outside the top 40 in pick-and-roll possessions per game. Despite working more on his outside shooting at NBA Summer League, Demin ran 442 possessions as the pick-and-roll ball handler at BYU.

The other possible threat in the connection between Claxton and Demin is the alley-oop lobs. When Harden and Irving were playing alongside Claxton, he achieved the NBA's best field goal percentage largely due to the simple finishes above the rim.

Rookie Relying on the Veteran

Demin is going to be a different kind of point guard than Brooklyn is used to. The year 1 expectation should not be for him to be a prolific scorer, but instead to rely on his court vision. Claxton has a good chance to be his favorite target.

Looking at rookie guards from the 2024 draft, almost all of them helped increase their center's counting stats. Isaiah Collier was taken with the No. 29 pick by the Utah Jazz and appeared in 71 contests. Walker Kessler saw a jump in scoring by three points per game from 2023-24 to 2024-25.

Looking at the Toronto Raptors, Jakob Poeltl saw his best scoring output in his ninth season playing with rookies Ja'Kobe Walter and Jamal Shead. Poeltl scored 14.5 points per game and took a career-high 10.2 field goals per game.

Given the history of rookies increasing the production of their front-court players, Claxton should do everything in his power to stay with Brooklyn. Demin was labeled the best playmaker in the draft class for a reason, and Claxton will be a go-to target for seasons to come.