Education Day is always an adventure. Whether it be on Long Island or elsewhere in the league. So far this season, every home team has won during Education Day, and the Delaware Blue Coats hoped to follow suit. Long Island had other plans as birthday boy Nate Williams scored 30 points, and E.J. Liddell had a massive double-double, which was able to lift the Nets past the Blue Coats, 123-107.
This game also marked the final game before the All-Star break for both teams. Both teams now have one week
off, with two players from Delaware being selected for All-Star festivities in Los Angeles this weekend, and zero from Long Island. Could the All-Star break see players finally move around within the Brooklyn organization? The parent club has an opening caused by some imbalance in their deadline day moves. The Nets dumped three players while adding two, leaving them with an opening on the big club’s roster.
So far, no movement on filling that gap, nor even confirmation that the missing piece could be found in the Nets G League roster. It’s very plausible that Liddell gets lifted to a standard deal, opening a two-way spot for a player like Williams or Grant Nelson. It’s all fungible.
Long Island was once again with all three of the Brooklyn two-way players, but had no players on assignment as the rookies stayed in Brooklyn. The only player who didn’t play in this one for the Nets was Dre Davis, which was a coach’s decision.
Long Island got off to a hot start and never looked back. After taking a 10-point lead into the second quarter, Long Island extended it to a nearly 20-point lead as halftime rolled around. The Nets never looked back in the second half either, as Williams, Liddell, and Grant Nelson went off in this one to secure the 16-point victory.
Nate Williams entered this one knowing he wanted to show up and show out on his 27th birthday which, spoiler alert, he did. Oftentimes, we may see a lot of changes in All-Star week which this year is in Los Angeles. This may players being called up, whether to a standard deal or a two-way deal, or players being sent down, or assigned to a hybrid status: playing for Long Island but on a regular G League contract, not a two way. For Williams, his play has cemented one thing: that he deserves a call-up, whether it be in Brooklyn or elsewhere.
The 6’6” wing is the player with the most NBA experience on the team, a total of 47 games over parts of three NBA seasons. So, while he’s a bit older than 23-year-old Grant Nelson or the slightly younger Chaney Johnson who’s on a two-way, Williams is the most experienced. The New York native (Rocheseter) separated himself head and shoulders from everyone else. Williams finished the game connecting on 12 of his 23 shots, for better than 50%, and went 3-of-9 from deep for a huge 30-point game.
Williams impressive day didn’t stop there. He hauled in seven rebounds, as well as picking up two assists.This was very much a statement game for Williams, as he is hoping to secure his spot back in the NBA.
E.J. Liddell, had another massive game. While his shooting output was small, eight shots taken, Liddell finished the game with 13 points. While this was far from Liddell’s biggest games, he played one of his most complete games vs. Delaware, the 76ers’ affiliate.
Liddell was a huge difference-maker under the basket, hauling in 12 rebounds. To cap off his impressive game, Liddell tallied two assists and one steal. Liddell has told ND that he strives to be the best regardless of where he’s playing. But one has to wonder if he was thinking of that coveted standard spot with Brooklyn.
From a player who had a double-double to one who very nearly had one, Grant Nelson looked unstoppable at times. While Nelson was very clearly still on a minutes restriction as he entered the All-Star break, his time on the court has been slowly creeping back up. The North Dakota native and Alabama product played the most minutes since being injured in this one, finishing Thursday’s game with 25.
Nelson is showing teams what he’s capable despite the restriction. He tallied 18 points, connecting on six of his 13 tries. He also hauled in a whopping nine rebounds. Nelson also had an assist and a steal to his credit. Nelson has been rumored as a two-way candidate since June when he passed on being taken in the second round of the draft in hopes of being signed by the Nets to a $600,000 deal. His injury slowed down that thinking, but as recently as last week he told ND that remained his goa.
Malachi Smith tallied 19 points in this one, which was good enough for second on the team. Smith continued to be Long Island’s most complete player, as he hauled in eight rebounds and tallied seven assists. He also had one steal to his credit and after two straight games of five turnovers shrunk that number to two on Thursday. The 6’4” combo guard could be a dark-horse candidate for any team’s two-way opening.
Tyson Etienne had a very uncharacteristic game putting one of his worst shooting performances yet, connecting on one of his 11 shots, including going one-for-10 from deep. Etienne finished with eight points, scoring six of them from the foul stripe. He also had four rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
The third and final Brooklyn two-way player, Chaney Johnson, came off the bench. Johnson looked electric as he tallied 15 points, connecting on five of his six shots. He also had four rebounds, one assist, one steal, and two blocks for another very complete game. Lately, Johnson has been living up to his two-way hDelype.
Hunter Cattoor also contributed 12 points off the bench. Cattoor shot the ball well, connecting on three of his seven tries, all from outside the arc. While Terry Roberts had a goose egg in the scoring category, he hauled in eight rebounds and distributed three assists. Roberts also etched his name in the history books, becoming the third player in franchise history with 300 assists.
Final score: Long Island Nets 123, Delaware Blue Coats 107.
Next Up
The Long Island Nets (13-9) now get to enjoy a week off before they return to the court on Thursday, February 19th, for a showdown with the Birmingham Squadron, the Pelicans affiliate. The game tips off at 12:00 p.m. for a matinee showing and can be watched on the NBA G League site, as well as on the NBA app.
