Overlooked No More, Brooklyn Nets' Sean Kilpatrick Is the Real Deal
At the end of a surprise double-overtime victory against the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 29, Sean Kilpatrick made his way off the floor, embracing each of his Brooklyn Nets teammates as he went.
Drenched in sweat, with a clear semblance of exhaustion dripping off every word, Kilpatrick waxed relief over the end of Brooklyn's seven-game losing streak. He needed to log 47 minutes and tally 38 points and 14 rebounds, both career highs, but the Nets were finally back in the win column.
Equally important, Kilpatrick's rise through the NBA ranks soldiered on.
This 38-point outburst, which included a 20-point fourth quarter, pulled him ever so slightly into the national focus, tethering him to the gray area where he resides now—an accepted threat, but someone still playing on the proving grounds.
"The big challenge in this league is consistency, and to be able to do it again," head coach Kenny Atkinson said of Kilpatrick's explosion. "And I'm not saying [score] 38 points. I'm saying play well again and again and again. That's a challenge for all our guys—how consistent we can be.
"But this is a big boost for Sean. It'll be interesting to track his performance and how he responds."
So far, so good: Kilpatrick is averaging 17.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists on 47.2 percent shooting, including a 42.9 percent three-point clip, since that detonation against the Clippers.
During his most recent outing, a Wednesday night victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, Kilpatrick scrapped together 22 points and five assists. He shot an unimpressive 5-of-13 from the floor but drilled three of his six three-point attempts while making frequent trips to the foul line and setting up teammates as the defense collapsed around him.
In many ways, that slugfest versus the Lakers was more telling than Kilpatrick's efforts against the Clippers. Nothing came easy, but he kept attacking, kept adjusting, and the Nets felt his presence.
He posted the team's second-highest plus-minus (plus-15) and noticeably extended the limitations of an offense that missed Jeremy Lin, who didn't suit up after experiencing back tightness.
Above all else, this was a game that begged perception to bend.
Surviving two 10-day contracts in Brooklyn after emerging as the D-League's top scorer didn't do the trick. Earning a guaranteed salary for this season didn't get it done. Torching one of the league's best defenses for 38 points didn't change this undrafted-to-D-League-to-NBA-rotation-staple story into a tale of one really good NBA player who's finding his place among other exceptional talents.
When will Kilpatrick have done enough, for long enough, to deserve that kind of shine?
No player is more important to the Nets right now. Lin's return will eventually change that, but he has to first stay healthy for more than a handful of games. Brook Lopez remains the name, but look at the numbers first.
Since entering the starting lineup for good Nov. 25, Kilpatrick has a higher offensive rating than any of his opening-five mates. The Nets are scoring 105.4 points per 100 possessions with him on the court, compared to 96.2 when he sits—the difference between ranking 11th and 30th in offensive efficiency.
Ten games is a small sample size, but Brooklyn suffers a similar free fall without Kilpatrick on the season-long scale. And then there's this, per NBA Math:
That Kilpatrick's value continues to mushroom is a big deal. Lin has missed most of the season, so Kilpatrick is receiving more defensive attention. The Nets have him shimmying between point guard and shooting guard—a balancing act that comes with more responsibility and, thus, even more attention.
"Looking at the situation, I think Isaiah [Whitehead] is doing a darn good job, but Sean has a little more experience," Atkinson said. "He can carry that pick-and-roll burden more."
There is a learning curve in this combo role, and Kilpatrick is laboring through it. He has initiated nearly 50 more pick-and-rolls than any of his teammates but is shooting under 40 percent in these situations while committing turnovers more than 20 percent of the time.
Kilpatrick often struggles with all the split-second decisions he has to make. His passes off screens get picked off and tipped. He waits too long for the roller or not long enough. He barrels into opponents without making enough effort to change course and is one of only two guards to rank in the top 20 in offensive fouls, according to NBA Miner.
These struggles are normal under the circumstances. More importantly, they have silver linings.
Kilpatrick's timing has improved by a significant margin when running the offense. He can still be impatient or get tunnel vision for his diver, but he's learning to look for second and third options out of screens:
Defenses are sending more help and occupying more real estate in the paint whenever Kilpatrick looks to drive. He's making adjustments there too, without implementing any wholesale tweaks to his attack mode.
"I'm just staying aggressive," he told Bleacher Report. "And as soon as I see defenses collapse on me, I try to find guys on the opposite side."
Quick passes make Kilpatrick that much harder to guard. He is already shooting better than 49 percent on downhill assaults, and the defensive traffic jams he creates are resulting in a ton of fouls.
Sixty-four players have staged 100 or more drives this season. Three of them generate fouls at least 20 percent of the time while also deferring on 30 percent or more of those plays: Jimmy Butler, LeBron James and Kilpatrick.
There are defensive improvement to be made, of course. Kilpatrick's assignments are shooting 47.3 percent on three-pointers, and he ranks in the 30th percentile of pick-and-roll prevention.
But the Nets defense is a collective letdown. Their frontcourt rotation,with the exception of Trevor Booker, isn't especially mobile, and Kilpatrick spends a great deal of time next to Whitehead—who, like him, is still getting a feel for how to defend NBA guards.
Brooklyn does allow fewer points per 100 possessions with Kilpatrick in the lineup, and he's a key member of the team's strongest defensive unit.
Atkinson has relied heavily on the combination of Joe Harris, Lopez, Booker, Kilpatrick and Whitehead over the last 10 games. They now make up the team's second-most-used lineup and are forfeiting an impressive 98.4 points per 100 possessions—the equivalent of a league-best mark.
Plus, Kilpatrick delivers in an area near and dear to his head coach.
"The first thing I look at is guard rebounding," Atkinson said after Brooklyn's win over the Lakers. "Are we helping those big guys tangle with the Timofey Mozgovs and Julius Randles of the world?"
Among the 89 guards who have seen at least 500 minutes, Kilpatrick's defensive rebounding percentage (15.1) ranks ninth. And he's not chasing these boards at the expense of his team. He knows how to play the angles and position himself around Booker's and Lopez's boxouts.
"You just have to be conscious of helping Trevor and Brook," he explained. "When those guys are sitting down there battling and trying to keep the other bigs off the boards, our guards—especially me and Isaiah, being big guards—have to continue helping those guys.
"I know there are a lot of times when we're going up for a rebound and the other guys are tipping it," he added. "But we have to make sure we come up with those rebounds, because our bigs are fighting the other bigs down there."
Kilpatrick's role will change once Lin gets back in the swing of things. He will still have the green light, perhaps once again as a second-unit anchor, but the ball won't find him in the half court as much.
Given that Kilpatrick entered the NBA without the promise of being a featured option, this isn't a caveat that mitigates his place in Brooklyn or the league.
He is knocking down almost 38 percent of his catch-and-shoot triples since that Clippers victory and doesn't need a bunch of time to create scoring opportunities on the bounce. He averages fewer seconds per touch than Rodney Hood and shoots a scintillating 43.8 percent on threes after using one dribble.
Though the Nets don't often use him as an off-ball option, he moves well away from the action during half-court sets and inbounds plays:
That begets an interesting, albeit uncomfortable, question: Has Kilpatrick become the Nets' most well-rounded player?
Just four guards match his scoring output (16.4 points), defensive rebounding rate (15.1) and assist percentage (16.5): Eric Bledsoe, James Harden, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook. Is this not worthy of some reflection? Especially knowing he was in the D-League, with the Delaware 87ers, this time last year?
"I try to keep what I call the 12 o'clock window," Kilpatrick said, "where I forget about everything that happened beforehand."
Makes sense.
After all, Kilpatrick has done enough, for long enough, to push forward without having to look back.
Nets Insider Notebook
Jeremy Lin: Injured Again
One game into his return from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for 17 contests, Lin was a no-go against the Lakers on Wednesday.
Atkinson said Lin felt some tightness in his back, and the team didn't elaborate any further. Lin is listed as questionable for Brooklyn's Friday night date with the Orlando Magic.
This latest setback puts a damper on what was an encouraging return. But the Nets are smart to treat Lin with kid gloves; they need to play the long game and aren't competing for anything special right now.
It's hard to not rush the process at the same time; the Nets have the net rating of a playoff team whenever he's in the game (plus-6.5).
Granted, we're dealing with a 155-minute sample. But if nothing else, a fully healthy Lin gives the Nets a chance to play months-long spoiler for the Eastern Conference's crowd of postseason hopefuls.
Caris LeVert Has Arrived...
...in a manner of speaking.
LeVert, the 20th overall pick in last June's draft, missed the Nets' first 20 games while recovering from a Jones fracture he suffered in his left foot during his final season at Michigan. He has appeared in each of their last four contests and looks pretty good.
No, his numbers aren't special. But he's getting up and down the floor with ease, and his first step shows no ill effects from the surgery he underwent last March.
Even better, LeVert has not been caught off-guard by the NBA's pace of play.
"I feel like I'm growing a lot on both sides of the ball—especially offensively," he said. "I think on defense I have a lot of energy and effort. The offense takes a little bit longer with timing and things like that, and I think I'm getting it back game by game.
"I knew it would be kind of tough, especially making the jump from college to the NBA after not playing for a while," he continued. "Rhythm and timing is probably the most important thing offensively, so it's been about as tough as I thought it would be."
Isaiah Whitehead Getting Comfortable
Many of the numbers won't support it, but Whitehead is starting to look...good.
Despite his shooting struggles, the rookie plays in some of Brooklyn's best offensive lineups. He owns the highest assist percentage of any Nets player to appear in seven or more games and is shooting better than 50 percent on drives.
"He's a competitive kid," Atkinson said. "The offense is a bonus for him right now. He's just trying to figure that out. And I'm really pleased. He's made some big plays."
This was one such incident Atkinson specifically referenced following Brooklyn's win against the Lakers—a strong-side bullet thrown on the move, over the heads of three defenders, to a waiting Harris:
"I don't know how he made that pass," Atkinson said. "That's what kind of attracted me to him when we looked at him ahead of the draft: his ability to find people and pass the ball."
Whitehead has a lot to figure out on defense. He frequently gets lost in the pick-and-roll shuffle, and opponents are destroying him when they get near the paint.
But he is a worker on the less glamorous end. And remember, he's facing off against some of the premier ball-handlers in the game almost every night—a challenge he revels in, even if certain individual matchups don't end well.
"It's so hard to stay in front of them, so hard to guard them on screen-and-rolls," Whitehead told Bleacher Report. "Every game, I'm learning more and more about how to defend not only [elite ball-handlers], but at the NBA level overall."
Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com. Salary commitments via Basketball Insiders. All information accurate leading into Thursday night's games unless otherwise noted. Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @danfavale.
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