Nets rookie Rodions Kurucs has been the steal of the second round, and he poured in a career-high-tying 24 points in Monday’s loss in Boston.
But dig deeper — Nets coach Kenny Atkinson didn’t see all the 3-pointers Kurucs had, but rather all the rebounds and defensive stops he didn’t.
When asked after the game to assess Kurucs’ performance, Atkinson’s grimace told the story. And his reply elaborated on it.
“Well, I want him to get back to defending and rebounding,” Atkinson said.
Kurucs, a 20-year-old Latvian, has shown an encouraging tendency to be at his best against the best.