Basketball
The coach spoke harshly about Demin’s play in the NBA. Clouds are gathering over the future of Russians
The performance and statistics of the young player in recent matches leave much to be desired.
Egor Demin very quickly broke into the strongest basketball league in the world. A record-breaking draft choice for Russians, a quick entry into Brooklyn’s starting five, outstanding individual performances and rave reviews from fans – all this has happened to the 19-year-old Russian over the past six months. Alas, the white stripe, as often happens, was followed by a black one.
Demin needs to be bolder
The match against Philadelphia at the end of November became a real benefit for Demin: 23 points scored in the second half, five three-pointers made and a large amount of useful actions on the court. It seemed that that game was supposed to instill confidence in Yegor and motivate him for future successes. The reality turned out to be somewhat different. After the best game in the NBA, there was a decline typical for young players.
Over the last five meetings, Demin’s best result was 10 points in the game with Chicago. On two occasions he scored only three points. The worst in this segment was the away match with Dallas (111:119), which took place on Saturday night, Moscow time. Demin again, for the 15th time in a row, appeared in the starting five, but after the game he showed, he was at great risk of losing his place in the starting lineup. And it’s not just about the small number of points scored. In terms of assists (1) and rebounds (1), the Russian also showed himself to be extremely modest. Usually reserved in criticizing his players, Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernandez immediately after the match made it clear that it was time for Yegor to pull himself together.
“He must play better, otherwise his playing time will be reduced and someone else will take advantage of it,” the Spanish specialist noted.
The main complaint against Demin in recent matches is the lack of initiative. He rarely takes shots and faces the ball too little for the point guard position. In most cases, he simply goes to the other half and then gives the ball to his neighbor, trying to prevent a loss. Passes under someone else’s ring are also extremely rare, which is confirmed by the sad statistics of earned fouls. Over the last five matches, he only once stood on the free throw line – for an attacking player these are very sad indicators. There are also questions about playing defense: opponents often “target” Yegor, who is not able to impede someone else’s shot. Demin’s game often becomes too rational, and the desire to avoid mistakes turns him into invisible. In a league where individual excellence is especially valued, this can very quickly lead to relegation to the reserves.
It’s too early to panic
Another bad news for Demin is that Brooklyn’s other young players have been showing themselves more and more brightly in recent matches. We are talking primarily about another newcomer to the team, Danny Wolf, who grabbed his chance very tightly. He acts much more boldly on the court, which is reflected in his personal statistics. If Demin scored 6.6 points in the last five matches, then Wulf’s figures were twice as good. But very soon one of the team leaders, Cam Thomas, whose injury largely contributed to the Russian’s promotion to the top five, should return to duty.
Demin’s weak performance in the match with Dallas led to the fact that in the fourth quarter the Russian received only two minutes of playing time. This reaction from the coach already says a lot, but in any case it’s too early to sprinkle ashes on Yegor’s head. Errors and instability are common for a newbie. What is more important is what reaction will follow from the player himself to an unsuccessful segment.
“I expect a stronger game from him.” I want to see him better prepared mentally and physically. I know that he can play better and he knows how to make the right conclusions after unsuccessful matches. In the game with Dallas, we, unfortunately, did not see his best qualities,” noted the Brooklyn coach.
One disastrous game and even an unsuccessful stretch of several matches is definitely not a reason to give up the eighth pick of the last draft. Demin is now third on the team in assists (3.5 on average per match) and first in interceptions (0.9). Almost two accurate three-pointers in each game is also an indicator of his skill. Next week, Brooklyn will have two matches against Milwaukee and Miami. His immediate future in the NBA will largely depend on Demin’s actions in these meetings.
Source: Sportbox
I am a sports journalist who has been writing for a news website since 2015. My work primarily focuses on sports news, but I have also written about other topics such as technology and the arts. I have an extensive background in journalism, having worked as a reporter for a local newspaper before moving to a news website.
“Kharkov Falcons” announced his return to the team Vyacheslav Kiktev.
The 23-year-old basketball player spent the first half of the season on loan at BC Zaporozhye.
As part of the Kazakhs, Kiktev was on the field for an average of 14:42 minutes per game and recorded 4.4 points and 3.0 rebounds.
“Due to the huge competition for the Pinterest position, I started loaning Vyacheslav to BC Zaporozhye in the summer. We had doubts about whether Slava would get enough playing time with the Falcons this season, especially considering the fact that he averaged only 10:41 minutes per game last year, even in the Major League. Under these circumstances, the loan from BC Zaporozhye was a consistent and balanced decision, and in my opinion, it was in Vyacheslav’s best interest. Luckily, the loan club was also in the interest of Vyacheslav.” BC Zaporozhye had almost no players in the center position and we knew that our player was guaranteed to get playing time.
A number of injuries in our squad necessitated the return of Vyacheslav Kiktev to the Kharkov Falcons. Due to lack of players, we have not been able to train five-on-five for more than a month. At the same time, the recovery period of players such as Dmitry Kleban, Nikita Bezima, Dmitry Martynov has also been postponed – at the moment we do not have specific information about when these players will fully return, at least to the training process,” Valery Plekhanov commented on the transfer.
Earlier, Valery Plekhanov summarized the team’s results for 2025 and talked about the preparations for the continuation of the season.
Source: Sport UA
Ralph Bean is a writer for Sportish. Ralph has written about sports news for the last two years, and is currently an author on the site. He enjoys writing about sports, and hopes to cover more stories in the future.
The NBA sent a memo to league teams proposing stricter rules on injury reporting and betting because of federal charges in gambling cases involving current and former league officials. The purpose of the changes is to reduce the value of insider information and prevent manipulation of results.
The league is considering measures to prevent intentional losing, more frequent updating of injury reports and restrictions on betting on individual match events. Specifically, teams will be required to submit injury reports updated every 15 minutes on match day. It is also planned to expand gambling-related education programs, strengthen the protection of players and staff against pressure from bookmakers and improve the monitoring of suspicious activities.
In addition, the league plans to introduce discounts and restrictions on betting on individual player statistics, highlighting the need for greater control over the types of bets offered by bookmakers.
Macau tries to move away from casino city image
Source: Sport UA
Ralph Bean is a writer for Sportish. Ralph has written about sports news for the last two years, and is currently an author on the site. He enjoys writing about sports, and hopes to cover more stories in the future.
Nine games were played in the NBA regular season on the night of December 27-28.
“San Antonio” hosted “Utah” and suffered a sensational defeat.
Spurs had a good first quarter, during which they made a 15:2 spurt to take an 11-point lead at 30:19, but failed to build on it or at least maintain it. In the second quarter, the Jazz responded with a 25:5 attack and took the lead 62:51 with the same 11 points. Utah then kept the opponent at bay for more than 10 points until the middle of the fourth quarter, when Spurs equalized the score – 106:106, thanks to a 14:2 breakthrough. However, the home team could not achieve this success and failed at the end of the match. In the last three minutes of the game, San Antonio scored 2 points and lost them with a score of 2:11 and had a score of 114:127 throughout the match.
Svyatoslav Mikhayyuk He was in Utah’s starting five and stayed on the field for 14 minutes, during which time he scored 3 points (1/1 three-pointers), also made 1 rebound and 1 assist with 1 loss and 1 foul.
The most productive player of the match was Vembanyama, who brought 32 points to Spurs, but this did not help them achieve positive results. Jazz has 29 points from Markkanen and 28 points from George.
“Chicago” lost at home to “Milwaukee”, where Giannis Antetokounmpo returned.
The Bucks gained a minimal advantage in the first quarter and then gradually increased it, eventually winning all quarters of the match and winning with a score of 103:112.
In this game, Antetokounmpo returned to the field after his calf muscle injury and became the most productive player, scoring 29 points for Milwaukee. Portis also scored a double-double for the guest team with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
NBA. Regular season, December 28
San Antonio – Utah – 114:127 (40:32, 20:38, 27:28, 27:29)
San Antonio: Vembanyama (32 + 7 rebounds + 5 blocks), Castle (20 + 7 assists), Vassell (11), Shempeni (4), Barnes (3) – start; K. Johnson (27 + 10 rebounds), Harper (7 + 7 rebounds + 12 assists), Cornet (7 + 8 rebounds), Brian (3), Sohan (0), McLaughlin (0), Waters (0).
Utah: Markkanen (29), George (28 + 6 assists), Nurkic (16 + 7 rebounds + 6 assists), Sensabaugh (11), Mikhailyuk (3) – start; Clayton (17), Williams (8), Collier (7), Filippovski (6 + 6 assists), Hendricks (2).
Chicago – Milwaukee – 103:112 (26:28, 24:26, 30:31, 23:27)
Chicago: White (16 + 5 losses), Vucevic (16 + 7 rebounds), Giddy (13 + 7 rebounds + 9 assists), Okoro (10), Buzelis (8) – start; Dosunmu (11), Collins (10 + 10 rebounds), Herter (7), Smith (6 + 10 rebounds), Jones (6 + 6 assists), Williams (0).
Milwaukee: Y. Antetokounmpo (29 + 8 rebounds), Rollins (20 + 7 rebounds), Turner (13), Porter (8 + 9 assists), Green (6) – start; Portis (17 + 11 rebounds), Kuzma (12), Sims (4), G. Harris (3).
Sacramento-Dallas-113:107 (31:23, 28:21, 29:33, 25:30)
sacramento: Westbrook (21 + 9 assists), Ellis (21), Reynaud (19), DeRozan (9 + 6 assists), Achiuwa (5 + 9 rebounds) – start; Schroeder (10), McDermott (9), Clifford (8+9 rebounds), Monk (7), Cardwell (4+8 rebounds).
dallas: Flagg (23 + 5 turnovers), Washington (17 + 4 blocks), Gafford (11 + 7 rebounds), Christie (9 + 7 rebounds), Nembhard (9) – start; Thompson (14), Marshall (11), Russell (7), Hardy (5), Powell (1 + 11 rebounds), Caleb Martin (0), Cisse (0).
New Orleans – Phoenix – 114:123 (33:32, 22:33, 30:28, 29:30)
New Orleans: Murphy (24), Quinn (21 + 11 rebounds), Fiers (18 + 8 rebounds), Bay (17), McGowens (0) – start; Williamson (22), Alvarado (7), Missy (4 + 8 rebounds), Poole (1), Peavy (0).
Phoenix: Booker (20), Brooks (18), Gillespie (17 + 7 rebounds + 7 assists), O’Neal (15), Ighodaro (8 + 10 rebounds) – start; Goodwin (16 + 9 rebounds), Buey (12), Williams (10 + 8 rebounds), Fleming (5), Richards (2), Livers (0).
Orlando-Denver-127:126 (23:31, 25:31, 36:31, 43:33)
orlando: Black (38), Bane (24 + 6 assists), Carter (18 + 7 rebounds), Banchero (12 + 6 assists), Jones (0 + 6 assists) – start; da Silva (17), Kane (7), Isaac (5), Richardson (4), Penda (2), Howard (0).
Denver: Jokic (34 + 21 rebounds + 12 assists), J. Murray (24), Hardaway (20), Watson (15), Jones (14) – start; Strother (13), Valanciunas (4), B. Brown (2), Pickett (0).
Atlanta – New York – 125:128 (27:33, 28:35, 34:30, 36:30)
of Atlanta: Okongwu (31 + 14 rebounds), Johnson (20 + 9 rebounds + 12 assists), Daniels (13 + 8 rebounds + 9 assists), Young (9 + 10 assists + 5 turnovers), Risache (4) – start; Alexander-Walker (25), Newell (12), Krejci (9), Kennard (2), Guay (0).
New York: Towns (36 + 16 rebounds), Brunson (34), Anunoby (15 + 10 rebounds), Bridges (14 + 8 assists), Diawara (5) – start; McCullar (13 + 8 rebounds), Robinson (6 + 9 rebounds), Clarkson (3), Colic (2).
Miami – Indiana – 142:116 (29:28, 30:32, 39:34, 44:22)
Miami: Wiggins (28), Powell (23), Larsson (16 + 7 assists), Weir (15 + 7 rebounds), Mitchell (0) – start; Jaques (28), Jovic (19 + 7 rebounds + 7 assists), Smith (5), Yakucionis (4), Johnson (2), Fontecchio (2), Gardner (0).
indiana: Siakam (33 + 7 rebounds + 5 losses), Maturin (25 + 5 losses), Nembhard (15 + 16 assists), Huff (11), Furphy (9 + 7 rebounds) – start; Nesmith (9), Jackson (4), Walker (3), Bradley (3), Jones (2), Potter (2), Thompson (0), Peter (0).
Minnesota – Brooklyn – 107:123 (30:33, 33:29, 23:36, 21:25)
Minnesota: Edwards (28 + 7 rebounds), McDaniels (16), Randle (13 + 11 assists), DiVincenzo (11 + 6 assists), Gobert (6 + 8 rebounds) – start; Reed (13), Dillingham (7), Clark (6), Hyland (4), Juzeng (3), Beranger (0), Miller (0).
Brooklyn: Porter (27 + 10 rebounds), Claxton (14), Clowney (11), Demin (7), Menn (2) – start; Thomas (30), Wolf (11), Sharpe (10), Powell (7), Traore (4), Wilson (0).
Houston – Cleveland – 117:100 (32:24, 28:22, 30:17, 27:37)
Houston: Durant (30 + 7 assists), Smith (15 + 7 rebounds), Thompson (13 + 9 rebounds), Eason (9), Adams (9 + 8 rebounds) – start; Sheppard (18 + 8 assists + 5 steals), Okogie (8), Capela (4 + 8 rebounds), Davison (3), Green (3), Finney-Smith (3), A. Holiday (2), Tate (0).
cleveland: Mitchell (16 + 6 assists), Merrill (13), Garland (12), Wade (6), Allen (6) – starts; Tyson (23 + 15 rebounds), Proctor (7), Bryant (7 + 7 rebounds), E. Mobley (4), Hunter (2), Porter (2), Ball (2).
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
-
Ligue 13 years agoRenato Sanchez signed in Paris for five years
-
Europa League4 years agoIn transfer alert at Olympiakos for additions and concessions
-
Europa League4 years agoFenerbahce – Eintracht 1: 1: The Germans took 1st place in the Olympiacos group
-
Europa League4 years agoWithout Nainggolan and Samata, the 11th team from Antwerp
-
Europa League4 years agoEuropa League
-
Europa League4 years agoAtalanta announced the acquisition of Boga
-
Europa League4 years agoFears that Zapata will be out for 4 months
-
Premier League4 years agoExcept for the rest of January, Sean was injured