The Brooklyn Nets (6-17) suffered a disappointing loss to the Utah Jazz on Thursday, but that meant that they had the chance to start another winning streak, this time at home. Brooklyn had an easier matchup than most of their games with the New Orleans Pelicans (3-21) coming to town and the Nets made sure to take care of business in front of their fans.
The Nets beat the Pelicans 119-101 thanks to a first half in which they got whatever they wanted on the offensive end of the floor. Forward Michael Porter Jr. resumed his torrid scoring pace with 35 points, nine rebounds, and three assists while center Nic Claxton found a way to make an impact of his own by notching his second career triple-double of 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.
With the Pelicans missing some of their best players including forward Zion Williamson, forward Trey Murphy III had to step up to the tune of 23 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Brooklyn did a good job overall of keeping their foot on the gas and playing winning basketball for 48 minutes. With that being said, here are the Nets player grades following Saturday’s win over the Pelicans:
Egor Demin: B+
Demin did a solid job of letting the offense come to him especially in a game where it seemed that the Pelicans were never close enough to make the game interesting. Demin dealt with some respiratory issues in Thursday’s loss to the Utah Jazz, but he looked fine in this one and head coach Jordi Fernandez made sure to give him more reps with the ball in his hands.
Terance Mann: B+
Ever since the emergence of Noah Clowney as one of the focal points of the offense, Mann has taken a backseat from the role in which he counted on to produce 10-15 points per game. Despite that, Mann has settled in as one of the glue guys on the team that will almost always be in the right position on the defensive end and is there to provide help on offense when needed.
Michael Porter Jr.: A+
Porter missed Brooklyn’s last game against the Jazz as the team tries to manage his back, but he came back into the rotation like he never left. Porter’s shooting ability cannot be overstated at this point in the season, but what is impressive about the way he scores is his knack for scoring without needing more than two dribbles and the Pelicans couldn’t stop him from cutting backdoor to the basket.
Noah Clowney: C
This has definitely been Clowney’s worst game since reaching his form as one of the more dependable scorers on the team and that’s saying something for a player in his third year in the league. Clowney had arguably one of the toughest draws of his teammates as he had to create offense against Trey Murphy III and Clowney ultimately struggled to get anything going.
Nic Claxton: A+
Claxton had a matchup that he liked coming into this one as he knew that Derik Queen would be his primary defender and Claxton took full advantage by continuing to put pressure on New Orleans’ defense. Claxton did a lot of everything against the Pelicans as he notched the second triple-double of the season due to the way he was scoring and assisting from the center spot.
Ziaire Williams: B-
Williams didn’t have quite the offensive explosion that he had against the Jazz, but he still stayed true to his role of playing defense and making enough three-pointers to keep the defense honest. Ever since Williams was benched by Fernandez, he has done everything he can to make sure that he is providing the defensive intensity even if his shot isn’t falling.
Danny Wolf: B
Wolf continues to see valuable minutes in the rotation as his skillset provides him the opportunity to be another ball-handler on the floor while providing rebounding and potential rim protection at the same time. One notable aspect from this game in particular was how talkative Wolf was on both ends of the floor, showing that he is growing more confident by the game.
Day’Ron Sharpe: A
Sharpe had one of his best games of the season as the Pelicans couldn’t stop him from getting whatever he wanted at the rim, whether that was scoring or rebounding. Sharpe’s summer workouts paid off in this one as he powered through any contact and it was impressive to see him running the floor at times so that he could assist in Brooklyn trying to get easy baskets in transition.
Drake Powell: C+
Powell wasn’t able to get much going by way of his offense as he wasn’t able to convert on many of the open looks that the Pelicans were giving him throughout the game. To his credit, Powell did a good job of handling the basketball and making the right decisions and his defensive impact was felt throughout the game even during the blowout portions of the contest.
Ben Saraf: B-
Saraf did a solid job of looking for his offense even though he could have been more efficient from behind the three-point line. Saraf’s offense is still a work-in-progress, but what Fernandez has been wanting to see from him, confidence and making the right plays with the ball in his hands, the rookie did that and that has been encouraging for his development.