DeAndre Jordan Brooklyn Nets
Photo: Newsday.com

Nets’s coach Kenny Atkinson recently expressed his satisfaction with how DeAndre Jordan is dealing with the absence of team stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.

“DeAndre’s been great. DeAndre was expected to play with KD and Ky’ and he’s playing with a different team,” Kenny Atkinson said. “I’ve been so pleased with his spirit and his attitude and how hard he’s playing and helping our defense, his rebounding.”

“You look at it two ways right? He’s doing his job. That’s what he should do. But on the other hand, we know that it can go differently. The proof’s in the pudding. We finish games with him,” coach continued.

“It’s been growing, and it’s a credit to him. He’s forcing us to play him more with his really stellar play. It’s just that simple. We have a two-headed monster there at the center position. But it’s more than matchup-based: It’s been earned by his stellar play. He understands he has a real leadership role with a lot of young guys around him. He’s taken that on seriously. He takes it as a personal challenge to lead this team,” Atkinson added.