Nets' Egor Demin ranks ninth on NBA.com's rookie ladder (Dec. 31)

NEW YORK -- Brooklyn Nets rookie guard Egor Demin has been playing well recently as it seems like he has found his stride as a rookie in the NBA that's starting for head coach Jordi Fernandez. Demin had a shaky beginning to the season, especially when it came to him switching up his shot selection, but Brooklyn has seen Demin grow and others around the league are taking note of it.

"Up across the board in December compared to November: 11.8 ppg, .559 True Shooting Pct., plus-11.8 vs. 8.8, .498 and minus-11.5. Coach Jordi Fernández is still pushing but applauding a bit, too," Steve Aschburner wrote in his latest rookie ladder for NBA.com. As Aschburner noted, Demin had his best month of the season in December as some of his offensive game is starting to come together.

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"I know the question made it seem like he's been bad or struggled. I don't think so. He's been great all the way through," Fernandez said to Nets Wire earlier this month when asked about how Demin has grown since the beginning of the season. "He's worked hard, and he has the right intentions. I'm gonna demand a lot from them [the rookies], and I'm gonna tell them I want consistency and I want them to get better, but that's my job."

Demin, 19, is averaging 9.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 39.2% from the field and 36.5% from three-point land on the season. However, as Aschburner alluded to, Demin is playing much better as of late as evidenced by his performance in Monday's 120-107 loss to the Golden State Warriors where he dropped 23 points (on seven made three-pointers) and three assists.

From the beginning of the season until now, Demin has either not been regarded as a top-10 rookie in the eyes of Aschburner or has been somewhere at No. 10 or No. 9. At this rate, with rookies like Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg and Charlotte Hornets forward Kon Knueppel playing so well, Demin may not crack the top-5. However, he is being recognized as one of the better rookies in the league at the moment.

This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets' Egor Demin ranks ninth on NBA.com's rookie ladder (Dec. 31)