Day’Ron Sharpe isn’t just rounding into shape after his earlier injury.
He’s coming off arguably the best all-around performance of his career.
The Nets backup center dominated Indiana on the glass, especially the offensive boards.
“I’ve got a lot of pride in my offensive rebounding. I call it my bread and butter,” said Sharpe, adding, “You’d better box me out — anybody. [If] you’re 7-foot-4, you’re 7-foot-5, it don’t matter, you’d better box me out. I feel like I can do it against anybody, no matter how much you weigh or how tall you are. I feel like I can do it against anybody.”
Sharpe’s 16 points and 13 rebounds in Monday’s loss were both season highs, and his nine offensive boards and five assists both tied career bests.
And the young big man did it all in 22 turnover-free minutes.
He was just the fourth player in Nets history with at least 10 points, 10 rebounds, five offensive boards and five assists off the bench.
“Impressive. His effort, second, third, fourth on the glass, that’s his superpower. That’s why we need him to bring that every game and then keep getting better in other aspects,” said Jordi Fernandez, who has seen Sharpe’s progression. “Constant work every day with a smile on his face, and is a guy that’s a very likable guy that always brings energy. And that’s good for the group. That’s how he plays, too. He comes in and plays really hard … [Monday] it was his best game.”
A hamstring injury cost Sharpe not just the whole preseason but the first 21 games of the regular season.
And once he started playing, the career 54.9-percent shooter slipped to just 44.8 percent.
But he’s clearly coming on of late, averaging 9.5 points and eight boards on 53.3-percent shooting over his past four tilts.
“I feel like I still got some room to go. I just feel like this is the start of it,” Sharpe said. “About three games ago, I feel like I really was starting to feel like myself again. Just coming back from the injury and not playing for months, I’m just still trying to figure my way out. And I feel like this is the start of it.”
Brooklyn’s backcourt will still be shorthanded Wednesday against the Pistons.
Point guard Ben Simmons has been upgraded to questionable with lower back injury management after having missed the past three straight, but newly acquired D’Angelo Russell is still out with a right shin contusion.
Cam Johnson (right ankle sprain) and Cam Thomas (left hamstring strain) are still out, as are Bojan Bogdanovic, Maxwell Lewis, De’Anthony Melton and Trendon Watford.