The Brooklyn Nets fell to the Atlanta Hawks, 83-76 Saturday night in Las Vegas, their fifth game of Summer League action.
Overall, counting their record from the California Classic, the squad is 3-2 since heading out to the West Coast, while in the main event (the Las Vegas portion), the team is 1-1, having blown out the New York Knicks on Friday evening.
After each scored 20 points on Friday, Egor Dëmin and Mikel Brown Jr., hopefully the Nets’ backcourt of the future, didn’t appear in Saturday’s clash,
the only two players who were sidelined. However, Joshua Jefferson, the 28th overall selection in this year’s draft, made his debut in black-and-white, but finished the game with just eight points in 24 minutes. Jefferson, a 6’9”, 240 pound point forward, went 1-of-8 from the field, adding an assist, a rebound, two steals, and two turnovers.
Chaney Johnson, one of the Nets’ confirmed two-way players, continued his excellent Summer League. He scored 12 points throughout seven minutes in the first quarter while corralling six total rebounds, including three offensive boards and two steals, while shooting 2-3 from deep and 5-6 from the field.
The Auburn product finished the game with 20 points, tied for the team lead with Danny Wolf, as well as 10 boards, four steals, and five offensive rebounds.
While he is certainly undersized for a traditional center, at 6’7”, he has consistently been able to hold his ground last year in the G League and so far this summer, a big testament to his strength and competitiveness. If he continues to play at this level throughout the preseason, it isn’t be too far-fetched for the Nets to offer him a standard NBA contract at some point.
The Nets’ other two-way and second-round rookie, Tyler Bilodeau, cooled off after a stretch of very hot performances, going 1-of-6 from the field and finishing the game with just five points, four rebounds, and an assist, while missing all four of his 3-point attempts.
Over the past couple of games, his defensive struggles have also often become evident. He has consistently showcased a tendency to give up the baseline on defense and get beaten down low.
Danny Wolf, Ben Saraf, and Drake Powell had varied performances. Powell’s significant struggles continued as he shot 0-of-7, missing both 3-point attempts, as he has now converted just one of his 27 field-goal attempts throughout the two summer leagues. That’s 3.7%.
Saraf finished the night with 15 points, though he did so on inefficient shooting, going 4-for-14 from the field and knocking down five of his seven free-throw attempts. He also had five assists while facilitating the Nets’ offense at times.
As for Wolf, every time he is on the floor, his strength and physicality down low are evident. Couple that with his shooting ability, and he undoubtedly has the tools to be a stretch big in the NBA. For him, it’s just a matter of consistency.
On Saturday, the Michigan product was quite effective, compiling a 20-point outing on 9-of-16 shooting with five rebounds and a steal.
The Nets’ three players on Exhibit 10s, Ben Humrichous, Dion Brown and Duke Brennan, each have shown flashes at points, but neither had a noteworthy performance on Saturday. Brown and Humrichous combined for four points. Brennan didn’t find the floor.
While the Nets didn’t pull away with a win, it was certainly refreshing to see Johnson and Wolf dominate.
Next Up
Brooklyn will have a few days off before returning to the court against the Sacramento Kings on July 14 at 6:00 pm ET.
It remains uncertain which members of the Nets’ or the Kings’ young core will be active. It could be the latest showdown between Darius Acuff Jr. and Mikel Brown Jr. a rivalry that goes back to high school and AAU. It’s what both fanbases would like to see, especially the Acuff truthers within Nets Twitter.
