The Long Island Nets returned to the court on Saturday night as they faced off with the Maine Celtics. This game served as a rematch from Long Island’s game with Maine the night before. Long Island didn’t
fare to well in that one, as they lost by over 20 points, and looked to right their wrongs on Saturday.
Unfortunately, it was not to be as Long Island once again fell to Maine, 127-116, as one of the Flatbush Five’s biggest stars, Ben Saraf sustained an injury. With one second left in the first half, Saraf appeared to come up lame on a drive and hopped off to the bench. The 19-year-old who started at small forward did not play in the second half. No details yet on the injury or its severity.
Before his injury, Saraf was having a decent showing. He connected on three of his six shot attempts, including hitting one of his three tries from deep. He finished the first half with seven points, and four rebounds.
Saraf also had six assists to his name in the first half, clearly on track for a double-double. He also finished the first half with three turnovers, which remains an issue for the Brooklyn rookies. Despite only playing one half, Saraf put his name back into the Long Island history books, as he and Yuri Collins both had six assists to their credit, marking the third time in franchise history that two players had six assists at the same time in a half.
Collins, who started slow, played his best game of the season in Saturday’s loss against Maine. He finished with 11 points, three rebounds, and a whopping 11 assists. Collins, the G League’s best playmaker, thrives on getting his teammates involved and not taking shots himself. He completed three of his eight attempts. He registered three rebounds and four steals.
Danny Wolf remains Long Island’s best point scorer. He led Long Island with 26 points in last night’s game, behind Maine’s Ron Harper Jr. who finished with 31. One of the biggest positives for Wolf last night came in how well he shot the ball. He connected on 10 of his 16 shot attempts, making four of his seven attempts from beyond the arc. A very good shooting game for Wolf who has been used more as a scorer than a point center.
The near 7-footer once again flirted with a double-double, tallying eight rebounds. He also had one block, continuing to embrace the leading big man role on the team. So far, Wolf is averaging 22.0 points on 48/39/80 shooting splits as well as 10.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 blocks. He’s also turning the ball over 3.3 times a game.
The final piece of the Flatbush 5, Nolan Traore, also showed signs of improvement. He shot the ball very well, scoring 17 points, connecting on seven of his 14 shots from the field. Traore got his teammates involved well, picking up five assists in the process. Despite being a turnover machine in the early going of the season, Traore only had four turnovers in this one, which is trending in the right direction.
Grant Nelson made the most of his 15 minutes as well, picking up 11 points and five rebounds and Nate Williams, the 6’6” wing picked up in the Drew Timme trade came close to a double-double with 24 points and eight boards. The 26-year-old Sag Harbor native also registered three assists, a steal and a block.
Overall, there were a lot of positives outside of Saraf’s injury in Saturday’s game for Long Island against Maine. Trevon Scott also got the start as Long Island made some line-up changes, taking David Muoka’s spot. Scott finished with a double-double, tallying 14 points and 12 rebounds. This game also marked the first time this season that six players on Long Island scored in the double digits – Scott, Wolf, Williams, Collins, Traore, and Nelson. Two of those names scored over 20, Wolf and Williams.
Next Up
Long Island (1-3) looks to get back on track in the Tip Off Tournament at home on Saturday night against the Greensboro Swarm. The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. EST and can be watched on the NBA G League and Long Island Nets respective websites, as well as the YES Network.
