Tyshawn Taylor - Moving from Angst to the Moment

If you follow Tyshawn Taylor's Twitter feed, you will find a record of what a philosopher might call existential angst. As chronicled by Matt Spolar of the Brooklyn Paper, here's a sampling,

Dec. 1: "Don’t feel good … Don’t feel like myself."

Dec. 15: "And it never stops … it jus keep getting worse."

Dec. 19: "I’m forever in lose / lose situations."

Jan. 17: "Dreams into reality … reality into nightmares."

Jan. 26: "Woke up on the wrong side of the bed … so ima take a shower and go back to sleep … hope I wake up in a better mood."

Feb. 2: "And at the end of it all … what you really got anyway?"

As Spolar and others write Thursday, he can put away the angst and enjoy the moment. He's played well beyond expectations, hitting big shots in overtime vs. Indiana on Tuesday and during the Nuggets' attempt at a comeback on Thursday. He's even flashed that million watt smile few times (most notably in Tuesday's post game interview with Sarah Kustok when she noted he had played 35 minutes.) How much time will he get in the future is uncertain, but his confidence has been bolstered.

"I stayed in college and played in a lot of big games," Taylor said. "I’ve been well coached. I think I’m prepared to play at this level."

More importantly, his Twitter feed reflected it. As Spolar wrote, one of his latest tweets was "a quote from a song by fractional Nets owner Jay-Z: 'Er’body look at you strange, say you changed … like you work that hard to stay the same.'

• Cheer up, Tyshawn! Nets angsty rookie has no reason to feel down - Matt Spolar - Brooklyn Paper
• One big game makes Tyshawn Taylor popular guy - Rod Boone - Newsday
• Nets’ Tyshawn Taylor Eager to Prove He Is No Fluke - Zach Schonbrun - New York Times