The Brooklyn Nets (2-1) had an interesting matchup on tap on Tuesday as they were facing guard Darius Acuff Jr. and the Sacramento Kings (1-2) for the second time this summer. There was the possibility that Brooklyn would be resting their young backcourt duo of Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr., but with both players suiting up, the Nets were able to come away with the victory.
The Nets beat the Kings 115-83 thanks to a dominant first quarter in which Brooklyn opened the game with an extended 38-18 run due to their effort on the defensive end of the floor. Demin was the standout player for the Nets as he finished 22 points, eight assists, and four steals while guard Drake Powell had 18 points and two steals in his bounceback game of the summer.
Acuff weathered the storm of Brooklyn’s defensive barrage as he finished with 26 points and five assists despite having a tough time getting open in the beginning of the game. The Nets are still in the chase for a top-4 spot in the Las Vegas Summer League, but there is still a lot of basketball to play. Here are the Nets player grades following Tuesday’s win over the Kings:
Mikel Brown Jr.: A
Brown did a good job of scoring from all over the floor despite facing tough defense from players like Darius Acuff Jr., who guarded him a fair amount throughout the game. There was a chance that Brown wasn’t going to play, but with him being able to go, that’s a good sign as to his overall health. While he was solid on defense, Brown had an issue with taking care of the basketball.
Egor Demin: A
It has already been said at this point that Demin has already shown all that he needs to for the Nets in the summer league at this point, but as long as he’s playing, he’ll be playing as hard as he can. Demin did a great job of scoring in a variety of ways, despite not being able to get most of his three-point shots to fall. Demin got to the free-throw line multiple times, set up his teammates for open shots repeatedly, and was impactful on the defensive end as well.
Drake Powell: A
Much has been made of Powell and his shooting struggles over the course of the summer circuit, with him recently addressing those very struggles to the media. This game looked like the one that Powell was waiting for as he seemingly couldn’t miss from three-point land while also being able to get to the basket and routinely making plays on the defensive end of the floor.
Danny Wolf: B+
Wolf had the second straight game where he looked like one of the best players on the court and it was due to his ability to finish around the basket and carve out space in the paint. Wolf wasn’t able to get anything to fall from behind the three-point line and get too involved in the rebounding phase of the game, but he was able to make up for that with his scoring.
Chaney Johnson: A
Johnson started slowly in this game as players like Demin and Powell scoring most of the points in the early going, but he found his offense eventually. Johnson did a great job of scoring around the basket and being all over the glass while still causing havoc on the defensive end of the floor and bringing great energy.
Tyler Bilodeau: C
Bilodeau had his worst game of the summer circuit as he couldn’t get anything to fall from behind the three-point line like he had been doing coming into the game. Despite his offensive struggles, Bilodeau did a great job of making plays on the defensive end of the floor to make up for the fact that his shots weren’t falling like he and the team are used to.
Dain Dainja: C
Dainja was unable to get anything to fall from the field during his time on the floor, but he did a good job of rebounding and defending his man straight up. However, Dainja has had better games over the course of Brooklyn’s summer circuit so the hope is that he can turn things around soon.
Ben Saraf: B
Saraf did a good job of scoring the ball in an efficient manner as he was able to get in the paint and create opportunities for himself and his teammates. Saraf did a great job of passing the ball as he finished with five assists to just one turnover and he was all over the defensive passing lanes as he and the team racked up the steals throughout the contest.
Joshua Jefferson: C+
Jefferson had a slow start to this game, but his offense eventually picked up as he started to get more comfortable with the ball in his hands and filling the running lanes. Jefferson did most of his damage inside the three-point line and while he had more turnovers than assists, his aggressiveness has been positive given that he’s still catching up to the rest of his teammates in learning the offense.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets summer league player grades after 115-83 win over the Kings
Reporting by Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire / Nets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire | USA TODAY Network
