The Nets’ Nicolas Claxton confirmed that his extended recent absence wasn’t just for contact tracing, but because he had tested positive for COVID-19.
But now that the second-year big man finally is back on the court, he has moved his focus from conquering the coronavirus to preparing for the playoffs.
“I was testing positive for COVID,” said Claxton, who scored four points to go with four rebounds in a 125-119 Nets win over the Nuggets in Denver on Saturday. “But I didn’t have any symptoms. I was just stuck in Miami, just there quarantining for about 10 days so I wasn’t really able to do much. I did a few quarantine workouts, but it’s just tough having to sit like that and then coming out here having to play. It’s just another obstacle. It’s nothing that I can’t conquer.
“This last week, it’s been a challenge, but it hasn’t been too tough … I’m just trying to get my rhythm back, get my wind back right before the playoffs so we’ll be able to make that push.”
Claxton went into the NBA’s health and safety protocol on April 19, the day after the Nets lost to the Heat in Miami. Though the rest of the team departed for a game in New Orleans, he stayed quarantined in his Miami hotel room.
“They had a bike in my room. I was able to use a bike, do some cardio and also had a little 40-pound weight, so I used that just to lift weights, tried to stay as active as I could,” Claxton said. “But it’s tough being stuck in a room. … I’m happy to be back out here playing the game I love.”
When Claxton — whose ability to guard every position on the floor led coach Steve Nash to call him Brooklyn’s best defender — has played this season, the Nets’ defensive rating was 105.7 according to Basketball Reference, which would lead the NBA. But with him off the floor, it ballooned to 115.5, which would be third-worst.