Last night marked the 3rd straight loss for the Brooklyn Nets summer league team, this time against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Nets as a team did poorly, shooting 25-71 from the field (35.2%) and only 7-23 from deep (30.4%). The team combined for 24 turnovers, which was really what doomed them from start to finish. They went down early on, being down 5 points going into the second quarter, but then exploded for 16 straight points to tie it up going into half. But then, straight out of halftime the T-Wolves went on a 12-0 run, and the Nets could never regroup and bounce back, resulting in the defeat.
However, there were some individual players who shined bright and showed promise for a successful future with the team. Center Jarrett Allen finally made his summer league debut and lived up to the hype, ending the day with 8 points on 50% shooting to go along with 12 rebounds (4 on the offensive glass) and 5 blocks all in 26 minutes. In the post-game interview, here’s what Allen had to say about his performance:
“It was good, it was fun. It was literally my first Summer League game. I came back, and it was a good comeback.”
Allen was sidelined from playing in the Summer League at all last year with a hip injury, so for his first game, he did very well. Allen said that he wanted to use the Summer League to practice being a leader on a team and then bringing that leadership back with him to the Brooklyn Nets:
“I’m trying to be a leader and teach the first-year people how to be a pro. I’m trying to be able to come out of my comfort zone. This is like the perfect place to practice to be a leader so I’m able to bring that skill back to the Brooklyn Nets.”
But perhaps the biggest surprise was the continued success of Yuta Watanabe, the 6’9” swingman out of GW. He had 14 points, including shooting 4/6 from 3-point land, and 4 boards and 2 blocks to go along with that. He’s really made an impact on the team in each of the 3 past games, and the coaching staff has taken note. In fact, this is what coach Jacque Vaughn had to say about Watanabe:
“He’s making me more comfortable, the coaching staff, for sure. He’s probably been our most consistent player, practices and games included. So I give him credit for that.”
Watanabe’s best attributes are his lights-out shooting, and the fact that he’s so big could make him a viable stretch-4 in the league, and his tenacious defense. In college, the coaches would have him defend the other team’s smaller guards, and he would completely lock them down. For being 6’9”, he guards the perimeter like a point guard.
And despite having history against him (only 2 other Japanese players ever played in the NBA), he’s not letting it get to him:
“Since I was a little kid, tiny, I was dreaming this. I’m thinking I don’t want to be an NBA player because I’m Japanese. I want to be an NBA player because I’m a basketball player like everyone else.”
Well, if he keeps up the good work, the Nets could definitely use his 3-point shooting and his defense on the upcoming season.
Shawn Dawson had a nice bounce-back game from his 3-point performance against the Thunder, adding 14 points, 3 boards, and 3 dimes. And finally, Kamari Murphy, who played for the Nets G-League affiliate last season, added 8 points and 10 boards.
The Nets will now enter the playoff portion of the Summer League, and if they can just limit those turnovers, there is no reason I don’t see them making some noise.
