The Brooklyn Nets began their summer league play earlier than usual this year because of their involvement in the California Classic, beginning with a matchup against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. While Brooklyn did not play guard Mikel Brown Jr. or forward Danny Wolf to go against Darius Acuff Jr., the Nets managed to make this matchup exciting either way.
The Nets lost to the Kings in the California Classic on Saturday 79-76 despite the fact that players like Egor Demin and Chaney Johnson had standout performances. Demin had 23 points and seven rebounds while Johnson had 10 points and 10 rebounds to put Brooklyn in the position of almost winning their first game of the Classic if it wasn’t for Darius Acuff Jr.
Acuff had a slow start to the game, but he eventually rounded into form as he finished the game with 25 points and four assists and Nique Clifford had 14 points and four rebounds, including the game-winning three-pointer. Time will tell when Brown and/or Wolf will take the floor for the Nets, but before that happens, here are the player grades from Saturday’s loss to the Kings:
Ben Saraf: C
Saraf struggled to be efficient on the offensive end of the floor as he had some trouble finishing around the basket and finishing his floaters when he did get into the paint. However, Saraf did a good job of rebounding the basketball and practicing ball security.
Egor Demin: A
Demin had his game going all game long as he seemingly couldn’t miss from anywhere other than the three-point line where he struggled to find any consistency. Demin has spoken about getting stronger so that he could get to the rim easier and while that part of his game is still a work in progress, Demin looked more confident initiating contact and working in the paint.
Drake Powell: D
Powell struggled on the offensive end of the floor as he couldn’t create many openings for him to get to his mid-range jumpshot and he was rarely able to turn the corner to get to the rim. Powell did a great job of rebounding and taking care of the basketball while applying some pressure on the defensive end, but his offense left plenty to be desired.
Tyler Bilodeau: B
Bilodeau did his job on the offensive end of the floor as he spread the floor for players like Ben Saraf and Drake Powell while showing more of the versatile offensive game that he displayed during his time in college. Bilodeau did a good job of rebounding the basketball within his area, but his defense will take some work given the amount of fouls he picked up during his time on the floor.
Chaney Johnson: B
Johnson had a slow start to this game as he wasn’t able to get much room to work against bigs like Dylan Cardwell, but he flipped the script in the second half as he got to the free-throw line and finished better around the basket. Johnson played solid defense around the basket, but there were times where he was just too small to affect bigs like Cardwell, but he will be working on his ability to play around that weakness.
John Ukomadu: D
Ukomadu struggled to be efficient on the offensive end of the floor as he just couldn’t create much space against the physical defender from the Kings. Ukomadu did a good job of helping on the boards, but he also turned the ball over too much and had too many instances where he couldn’t defend his man without fouling.
Ben Humrichous: C+
Humrichous did a good job of scoring the ball during his limited time on the floor as he was efficient from three-point land, showing his ability to spread the floor for his teammates. Outside of his offense, Humrichous did a great job of defending in this game as he was seemingly making plays all over the floor without coming close to getting in foul trouble.
Hunter Sallis: B
Sallis did a good job of creating his own shot off the dribble and getting to the free-throw line despite there being moments where the game got bogged down. Sallis also did a solid job of rebounding and taking care of the basketball, but he also struggled defending his man without fouling.
Duke Brennan: C-
Brennan had an underwhelming offensive game as he couldn’t get a shot to fall from the field, but he was strong enough in the paint that he was able to get to the free-throw line for all of his points. Brennan also did a good job rebounding the basketball, but he had his fair share of struggles with turnovers and fouling over the course of the game.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets player grades: Egor Demin drops 23 in 79-76 loss to Kings
