LAS VEGAS — The Brooklyn Nets (1-1) came into Saturday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks (2-0) with the hope of winning their second game in as many days, despite being without Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. Brooklyn still had the rest of the roster available to go against Kingston Flemings and the Hawks, but they let go of the rope in the fourth quarter.
The Nets lost to Atlanta 83-76 thanks to the Hawks winning the fourth quarter 26-16 thanks to the contributions of players like Kobe Johnson and Zuby Ejiofor. Brooklyn had some standouts in this matchup as center Chaney Johnson went off for 20 points, 10 rebounds, and five steals while forward Danny Wolf had 20 points and five rebounds.
For the Hawks, Johnson finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, and four assists coming off the bench while Ejiofor had 13 points and six rebounds. The Nets shot just 8% from behind the three-point line so it was not their strongest long-range shooting game and they also turned the ball over 21 times, allowing Atlanta to keep getting out in transition to score easy baskets.
Here are the Nets player grades following Saturday’s loss to the Hawks:
Ben Saraf: B
With Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. not playing in this game, there were plenty of ball-handling reps for Saraf to take advantage of and he did a good job of facilitating the offense. Saraf was not particularly efficient on the offensive end as he had his fair share of struggles finishing at the rim, but he was able to get to the free-throw line multiple times and played solid defense as well.
Drake Powell: D
Powell had another game where he struggled shooting the ball in any capacity and it seems like Powell’s growing pains will be in getting more easy shots instead of trying to shoot over his defender on most shots. Powell did a solid job taking care of the basketball and playing defense, but his offense will be the biggest work in progress at this point in the offseason.
Joshua Jefferson: C+
Jefferson finally made his debut in the summer league for the Nets now that the Julius Randle trade is official and he was able to get plenty of playing time on the floor. Jefferson did not shoot the ball well from the field, but he looked like he was prepared to run up and down the floor despite not being able to practice with the team and he maintained active hands on the defensive end.
Danny Wolf: B+
Wolf did a great job of scoring the ball overall despite not being able to get his shot to fall from three-point land as he was able to play bully ball around the rim for the most part. Wolf did a good job of rebounding the basketball amongst the trees, but he had trouble taking care of the basketball when dealing with pressure on the perimeter.
Chaney Johnson: A
With the way Johnson has been playing since the summer league circuit began for the Nets, there will be plenty written about him after this game. Johnson seems to be doing everything on the floor for Brooklyn and against the Hawks, he scored from all over the floor, rebounded, defended, and never looked like he was tired enough to come out of the game.
Tyler Bilodeau: C-
Bilodeau had been shooting the ball so well for the Nets heading into this game, but he couldn’t find his rhythm despite getting some good looks over the course of the game. He did a good job of rebounding, but he also struggled with fouls and turnovers. He’s likely to see better days at the summer league goes on.
Ben Humrichous: D
Similar to Bilodeau, Humrichous had made a name for himself in the California Classic due to how well he shot the ball from behind the three-point line to help spread the floor. Humrichous couldn’t get any of his three-pointers to fall despite getting some nice looks against this Atlanta defense, but he should be able to turn things around in the near future.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets player grades after 83-76 summer league loss to Hawks
