P.J. Carlesimo offers praise on Tyshawn Taylor's play

A little more than a week ago, after returning from one game at Springfield, Tyshawn Taylor talked about how he'd play anywhere and how he hoped that when his number was called, he'd be mentally as well as physically ready.

"For me, someone who has played a lot, to not really be playing at all, but I think it’s just part of the process," he told Josh Newman of SNY. "Just learning to be patient a little bit and staying ready. That’s kind of the hardest part, staying mentally ready."

Wednesday night, his number was called and he responded. C.J. Watson was active but hurting and P.J. Carlesimo used Taylor for extended minutes. Afterwards, he cited Taylor's role as critical to the team's big win over the Thunder.

"Tyshawn had to play some big minutes," said the Nets interim coach after the game. "Obviously his minutes in the second half were a little better. In the fourth quarter, he gave us some really big minutes and we were able to get these guys a couple of minutes rest. I mean we didn't want them to play 47 minutes and Tyshawn enabled us to do that."

The boxscore shows Taylor didn't score or hand out an assist but it also shows no turnovers and no personal fouls. More importantly, Taylor played good defense, particularly against Russell Westbrook. He's now played in four of the last five games, scoring 13 points in 41 total minutes.