Yuta Watanabe: The Nets non-guaranteed wing becoming one of the NBA's top shooters
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After the Brooklyn Nets suffered an embarrassing first-round sweep to the Boston Celtics last season, general manager Sean Marks said he wants the team's ballyhooed culture to be driven by players. Players with a chip on their shoulder.
Enter Yuta Watanabe: The Nets' diamond in the rough player this season.
The Nets wing came into Sunday leading the NBA in 3-Point shooting at 56 percent. He, once again, shot the lights out on the Barclays Center hardwood, going 4-of-6 from behind the arc in Brooklyn's 127-115 victory over the depleted Memphis Grizzlies. All of his four triples came in the fourth quarter against his former team, and when Watanabe checked out of the contest, he was walking to the bench to a standing ovation and countless smiles from his teammates and coaching staff.
“He’s playing great," said Durant of Watanabe. "We love his energy. He’s hitting big shots for us, so you always get excited for your teammates, especially guys who come in and don’t necessarily have a guaranteed spot on the team but work their way into the rotation and put their imprint on the game from day one.
"So I’m excited for him, and at this point, I think we should expect that he’ll go out there and play good basketball. I’m not saying he’s going to make every shot and shoot 70 percent from the floor for the rest of the year, but he’s just playing solid ball on both ends of the floor. But we expect that from him now."
Now 17 games into the regular season, Watanabe shot 50 percent or higher from 3-Point territory in 10 of those 17 games. His performance Sunday night bumped his league-leading 3-Point shooting percentage to 57.1 percent. His effective field goal percentage of 76.6 percent is also a league-best.
Although Durant joked he'd take himself and the 'God Steph [Curry]' over his teammate in a 3-Point contest, he praised Watanabe postgame.
"He's shooting the ball extremely well for us, spacing the floor," Durant said. "But he's also driving the ball when he catches it, he's making the right play right now. I think when you make the right play, them shots feel a little better leaving your hand."
Watanabe's flamethrower from behind the arc lifted the sellout 18,241-person crowd into a frenzy every time he attempted a triple, electrified the crowd when he drained one and pulled out a few celebrations in the process. The majority of his 3-Pointers made came from the corners - an area he's shooting 76.2 percent.
"It's like the epitome of basketball. Why basketball is so special," Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn said about Watanabe's rising success with a bright smile. "To be able to be on the same floor with him and his journey, and see him have success, and the guys cheer for him. To me, that's why I love being around the game. He works on his game. He does all the right things and to see a person get rewarded. It's a great part of basketball."
His early success on the hardwood comes months after Brooklyn inked Watanabe to a non-guaranteed minimum contract. He's not eligible for a reconstructed contract and his non-guaranteed deal becomes guaranteed on January 10 - the day all partial and non-guaranteed contracts become guaranteed. The date also applies to Edmond Sumner and Markieff Morris.
