The Brooklyn Nets have not been earning the results they wanted through two games in the Las Vegas Summer League, but Tuesday presented another chance for them to notch their first win in the event. With a matchup against Tyler Kolek and the New York Knicks on tap, Brooklyn had the opportunity to show what they could do with more practice time, but the results remained the same.
The Nets lost to the Knicks 97-93 on Tuesday to drop them to 0-3 thus far in the summer league, meaning that they likely have no shot of making to the playoffs within the event. Brooklyn lost the game despite center Drew Timme going off for 24 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists while forward Caleb Daniels dropped 16 points and nine rebounds in his first chance to start.
The main reason that the Nets lost to the Knicks was due to guard Tyler Kolek and forward MarJon Beauchamp scoring 25 points each, showing how hard it was for Brooklyn to defend them over the course of the game. Here are the Nets player grades following Tuesday’s loss to New York:
Nolan Traore: D
Traore got the chance to start this game with Egor Demin and Tyson Etienne being ruled out for the matchup, but this game following a trend for Traore in which he showed some positives and negatives. His overall shooting was lacking, especially at the rim, but him continuing to show that he’s lightning-quick with the ball in his hands along with some nice passing should keep Nets fans encouraged.
Ben Saraf: C+
Saraf, like Traore, got the opportunity to start in a summer league game with some players being held out of the game for various reasons and scoring efficiently was not his strong start. To be fair, this was the most aggressive that Saraf has been in Las Vegas and he did make some nice moves to get all the way to the rim. Saraf did a good job of keeping his head in the game and he had some active hands on the defensive end of the floor and came away with some steals as a result.
Caleb Daniels: B+
Daniels drew the start and he made the most of it as he did a great job of scoring the ball while trying to spread the floor for players like Drew Timme and Ben Saraf. Daniels did a good job of scoring at all three levels and he was all over the boards with his rebounding. Daniels did in this game what every player looking for an NBA roster spot should be doing in the summer league and that’s playing hard on every possession and hitting open shots.
Grant Nelson: B-
Nelson did a good job of scoring the ball when it came his way, but one would have liked to see him be more aggressive on the offensive end, especially when he got the ball near the rim. Nelson did a good job of rebounding and he was active on the defensive end on the perimeter and in the paint. Unfortunately, Nelson turned the ball over too much over the course of the game.
Drew Timme: A-
Timme had another chance to show what he could do in the Las Vegas Summer League as the starting center for the Nets and while he wasn’t as efficient, he still proved his dominance. Timme did not make any of his three-point attempts, but other than that, he was efficient finishing around the basket. Timme did a great job of cleaning up the glass and passing the ball, showing his all-around game.
TJ Bamba: C
Bamba did a good job of scoring when the ball came his way as he found some success scoring in the paint using his frame to finish. Other than that, Bamba did not do much else on the offensive end of the floor and he seemed to pick up some fouls while trying to guard his man.
Quincy Olivari: B
Olivari had a good performance coming off the bench for the Nets as he scored the ball well overall even though he struggled shooting the ball from three-point land. Olivari found most of his success finishing in the restricted area and drawing fouls, showing that he is more than just his three-point shot. Olivari did pick up six fouls in his 27 minutes on the floor so that part was concerning.