The Nets have seen this before with Caris LeVert.
Lengthy injury layoff. Then an extended cold spell as he regains his rhythm. And finally a scalding hot stretch when he finds his form.
The Nets are hoping the last stage is just around the corner, as LeVert tries to get in sync after a long layoff following thumb surgery.
“Still finding his rhythm. He’s a rhythm player, still finding it, still searching,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “He’ll get there. It’s just a matter of time. I know he doesn’t want me to use injury as an excuse.” Spencer [Dinwiddie] took some time after he hurt his thumb to get back to the swing of things.
“I do like [how he’s progressing]. I rewatched the Detroit game; I thought he did a lot of good things, hit a couple big 3s in the second half, energy was really good, moved really well. So it’s coming. I keep telling him I see it coming.”
In 12 appearances since his Jan. 4 comeback, LeVert is averaging 12.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists. He’s shooting a subpar 35.6 percent since returning.
But both LeVert and Atkinson are confident he’ll come into Friday’s game versus Chicago on the verge of a breakthrough.
“Yeah, I think so. I’m really close. I think we continue to work with the minutes, and those things will come,” LeVert said.
“I’ve been at like 20-to-22 minutes the past five or so games. So I feel like with the minutes I’ve been given, I feel like I’ve been finding my rhythm as much as I can. The more minutes I play, it’ll come, for sure.”
History shows LeVert is probably right.
He had averaged 16.8 points, five boards and four assists in 31.6 minutes through the first nine games before thumb surgery forced him to miss 24 straight. And his earlier returns from long layoffs included extended cold spells followed by eventual hot streaks.
LeVert was the Nets’ best player at the start of last season, averaging 18.4 points on 47.5 percent shooting before suffering a dislocated right foot. When he returned on Feb. 8, he wasn’t himself for a while, averaging just nine points on 34.8 percent shooting — and 24.2 percent from 3 — over his next 18 games. It took a month-and-a-half to find his footing.
Eventually, LeVert averaged 16.0 points on 48.9/45.2 shooting over the final eight games, and a team-best 21.0 ppg in the playoffs.
The All-Star reserves were announced Thursday, and Dinwiddie was snubbed despite a dark-horse candidacy. He’s averaging 21.4 points and 6.5 assists, including 23.0 points and 7.1 assists in 33 starts.