NBA

Wizards guards will be ‘quick’ test

WASHINGTON — For all of the talent and veteran experience the Nets amassed during their shopping spree this summer, one weakness they were unable to repair was a lack of speed and athleticism on the perimeter.

That shortcoming will be tested Friday night, when the Nets try and contain the Wizards’ young, dynamic backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal. But Jason Terry said the Nets have more than enough ways to slow down their young, speedy counterparts on the court.

“Well, we counter that with out length and size on the inside,” Terry said after Thursday’s practice at the team’s New Jersey facility. “You can be as quick as you want, but once you get by one person, there’s a second defender there to help. Get by him, there’s a third.”

Such a strategy undoubtedly will be necessary in trying to slow down Wall, who may be the fastest player in the league with the ball in his hands. The Nets hope to have more success against the Wizards than they did against the Magic, when rookie Victor Oladipo had a lot of success running the high pick-and-roll against the Nets and finished with 19 points, six rebounds and four assists.

“I think we’re a team capable of playing any style,” Paul Pierce said. “I’m not going to look past Washington and what they present because that’s been a challenge for us so far for us this year, playing against these young athletic teams, getting out trying to run. … We lost to two of them [Orlando and Cleveland].

“So I know we can adapt to more of a playoff style, with the Indianas of the world, the Chicagos of the world, the Miamis of the world. These are the teams that we have to make the adjustment to get through the regular season if we want to try to be a top seed [in the East].”

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Terry said he is still working his way back into the flow of things after undergoing left knee surgery that held him out for all but the final two games of the preseason.

“It’s getting stronger,” he said. “I felt the last game, though I didn’t play a lot of minutes, in warm-ups I definitely felt real good and fresh.

“[Thursday] was another great practice for me. I’m starting to make moves to the basket. I’m feeling more explosive, and that’s the key for me. Everybody knows I can shoot, but my other asset is being able to get into the lane, penetrate, make plays for others.”

The veteran guard said the Nets’ training staff has told him he won’t be fully back to normal until late December or January.

“I’m just staying optimistic, slowly grinding, understanding that it’s a process,” Terry said.

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The Nets assigned both of their second-year players, guard Tyshawn Taylor and forward Tornike Shengelia, to their D-League affiliate Thursday. The two players will both report to Springfield on Friday for the start of training camp, ahead of the Armor’s season opener next Friday at Maine.

Both Taylor and Shengelia have yet to play in a regular-season game for the Nets this year. Taylor missed some time during the preseason with a sprained right ankle, while Shengelia missed the entire preseason recovering from offseason left knee surgery.