Tag: player grades

Player grades: Mikal Bridges drops 21 as Nets lose to Trail Blazers 105-103

Here are the Brooklyn Nets player grades following Wednesday’s 105-103 loss at the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Brooklyn Nets visited Moda Center on Wednesday to face the Portland Trail Blazers and lost 105-103.

For the Nets, Mikal Bridges had 21 points, four rebounds, and four assists while Spencer Dinwiddie had 19 points and seven assists. Cam Johnson had 13 points and Lonnie Walker IV had 13 points off the bench.

For the Trail Blazers, Jerami Grant had 30 points and eight rebounds while Anfernee Simons had 20 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Duop Reath had 17 points and Malcolm Brogdon had 16 points.

In the first half, it was a back-and-forth affair as neither team could figure out how to stop the other for a first half that at least had a decent amount of scoring. Mikal Bridges (15 points) and Lonnie Walker IV (13 points) combined for 28 points to help the Nets take a 52-51 lead heading into halftime.

In the second half, it was a tale of two quarters as the Nets used a massive run in the third quarter to lead by 11 points thanks to some impressive play from Dinwiddie and Johnson. However, Portland took over in the fourth quarter to get back into the game where it came down to Simons hitting a clutch floater over Bridges to win the game 105-103.

Here are your Nets player grades following Wednesday’s loss:

Saints’ 10 worst offensive players in 2023, per PFF

These were the Saints’ 10 lowest-rated offensive players in 2023, per Pro Football Focus grading, including Cesar Ruiz and Trevor Penning:

The New Orleans Saints was out of sorts again in 2023, though they rallied late — managing to put some bandages over weaknesses and vulnerabilities at various position groups. But they must go into 2024 with a better plan for using the talent on this roster.

So where to start? The offensive line graded poorly across the board at Pro Football Focus, but here are the 10 players on offense (minimum 100 snaps) who received the lowest player grades from PFF:

Saints’ worst 10 defensive players in 2023, per PFF

These were 10 lowest-graded players on the Saints defense in 2023, per Pro Football Focus:

The New Orleans Saints defense was the strength of the team for much of their 2023 season, but the unit still had some vulnerabilities that were exposed against quality opponents. With much of the roster and coaching staff returning for 2024, it’s going to be important for New Orleans to shore up those deficiencies and take pressure off of Derek Carr’s offense.

But where to start? Here’s a quick look at the 10 lowest-graded Saints players on defense (minimum 100 snaps) from Pro Football Focus. It speaks to the quality of the unit that even some of their lower-rated players are grading out as above-average next to standards around the league:

Player grades: Mikal Bridges scores 26 as Nets lose to Heat in OT 96-95

Here are your Brooklyn Nets player grades following Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day 96-95 loss to the Miami Heat in overtime.

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets welcomed the Miami Heat to Barclays Center on Monday for a matchup on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and lost in overtime 96-95.

For the Nets, Mikal Bridges had 26 points, nine rebounds, and six assists while Cam Thomas had 23 points and three assists off the bench. Royce O’Neale had 15 points and Nic Claxton had nine points.

For the Heat, Jimmy Butler had 31 points and five rebounds while Tyler Herro had 29 points and 11 rebounds. Bam Adebayo had 11 points and Caleb Martin had nine points.

In the first half, it was the makings of a game that would not be appealing to the eye as neither team was good on the offensive end. Fortunately for the Nets, they appeared to be more rested than the Heat and their effort and energy on both ends allowed them to score some crucial points in transition.

In the second half, this game flipped on its head as Miami won the third quarter 37-24 on the backs of Butler and Herro combining for 26 points in the period to allow the Heat to steal the momentum. That made this game an intense one down the stretch as Brooklyn matched Miami’s energy and it came down to Butler missing one of his patented shots to force overtime.

In overtime, there were some crucial possessions where the Nets and the Heat had plays that could have gone either way and it took some reviews to sort out the madness happening on the court. Towards the end of overtime, it took a Butler foul that probably should have been challenged by Brooklyn head coach Jacque Vaughn given that the Nets had one challenge left. Bridges missed a decent look on the other way and took some contact along the way, but no foul was called.

Here are your Nets player grades following Monday’s loss:

Player grades: Cam Thomas scores 26 as Nets lose to Cavaliers in Paris 111-102

Here are your Brooklyn Nets player grades following Thursday’s 111-102 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Paris.

The Brooklyn Nets played the Cleveland Cavaliers at Accor Arena on Thursday as part of the NBA Paris Game and lost 111-102.

For the Nets, Cam Thomas had 26 points and six rebounds while Mikal Bridges had 26 points and six rebounds. Lonnie Walker IV had 20 points off the bench and Nic Claxton had 13 points.

For the Cavaliers, Donovan Mitchell had 45 points and 12 rebounds while Caris LeVert had 21 points and three rebounds off the bench. Issac Okoro and Jarrett Allen had 12 points each.

In the first half, this game couldn’t have been more of a lopsided affair as everything was working for the Cavaliers thanks to Donovan Mitchell’s 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals. The only positive for the Nets in the half was that Cam Thomas (11 points) kept their team afloat for as long as he could.

In the second half, the Nets looked to be heading for a second straight game in which they looked pretty bad until the sequence when Cleveland center Tristan Thompson was thrown out of the game in the fourth quarter with a flagrant foul 2 on Claxton. Thomas and Walker were instrumental in helping Brooklyn get back into this game, but their 26-point deficit was just too much to come back from with the time remaining.

Here are your Nets player grades following Thursday’s loss:

Player grades: Mikal Bridges drops 42 as Nets lose to Trail Blazers 134-127

Here are your Brooklyn Nets player grades following Sunday’s 134-127 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets welcomed the Portland Trail Blazers to Barclays Center on Sunday for some basketball on football day and lost 134-127.

For the Nets, Mikal Bridges had 42 points and four rebounds while Cam Johnson had 17 points and six rebounds. Nic Claxton had 16 points and Day’Ron Sharpe had 11 points off the bench.

For the Trail Blazers, Anfernee Simons had 38 points and 11 assists while Jerami Grant had 27 points and two rebounds. Shaedon Sharpe had 21 points off the bench and Malcolm Brogdon had 18 points off the pine.

In the first half, the Nets appeared to be going through the motions as they had trouble taking care of the ball and weren’t able to be efficient shooting the ball from behind the three-point line. That was more evident towards the end of the half as it looked like the Trail Blazers were playing harder than Brooklyn was.

In the second half, Portland continued to hang around thanks to the sizzling play of Simons and Grant as Brooklyn could not find an answer to limiting either player. Bridges came up clutch for the Nets in the fourth quarter, but Brooklyn had some miscues that forced the game into overtime.

In overtime, Simons continued to lead the charge for the Trail Blazers and even after Bridges did his best to continue his scoring binge along with Brooklyn trying to blitz Simons, nothing seemed to work. Claxton also had five fouls down the stretch so he could not present much of a challenge at the rim without the fear of fouling.

Here are your Nets player grades following Sunday’s loss:

Player grades: Nic Claxton scores 23 as Nets beat Thunder 124-115

Here are the Brooklyn Nets player grades following Friday’s 124-115 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets welcomed the Oklahoma City Thunder to Barclays Center on Friday and won 124-115.

For the Nets, Nic Claxton had 23 points and 13 rebounds while Spencer Dinwiddie had 23 points and four assists. Cam Thomas had 19 points off the bench and Mikal Bridges had 17 points.

For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 34 points and nine rebounds while Jalen Williams had 20 points and five assists. Chet Holmgren had 17 points and Josh Giddey had 13 points.

In the first half, it was a complete change of what happened in the last matchup between these teams as the Nets did the dominating instead of the Thunder. Cam Thomas finally made a field-goal for the first time in three games and he led the Nets in scoring with 16 points.

In the second half, Oklahoma City turned things around in a huge way as they started to shoot the ball better while playing much better defense on Brooklyn to get back in this one. The Thunder made things interesting in the fourth quarter as the Nets essentially collapsed, but had enough of a cushion to pull out the win.

Here are your Nets player grades following Friday’s win:

Player grades: Cam Johnson scores 15 as Nets lose to Rockets 112-101

Here are the Brooklyn Nets player grades following Wednesday’s 112-101 loss at the Houston Rockets.

The Brooklyn Nets visited Toyota Center on Wednesday to face the Houston Rockets on the second night of a back-to-back and lost 112-101.

For the Nets, Cam Johnson had 15 points and six rebounds while Mikal Bridges had 15 points and four rebounds. Royce O’Neale had 13 points off the bench and Nic Claxton had 12 points.

For the Rockets, Alperen Sengun had 30 points and eight rebounds while Fred VanVleet had 21 points and 10 assists. Jalen Green had 14 points and Cam Whitmore had 11 points off the bench.

In the first half, it was a back-and-forth affair as neither team could separate from the other due to sizable contributions from players on both sides. Nic Claxton had 8 points and 10 rebounds while Royce O’Neale had 12 points, two rebounds, one assist, and two steals off the bench.

In the second half, the Rockets blew the game open in the third quarter as they started stringing together three-pointers and great defense while the Nets could not get out of their own way or make any shots. Brooklyn played Houston even for three quarters, but the third quarter is where this game was lost for the Nets.

Here are your Nets player grades following Wednesday’s loss:

Player grades: Cam Johnson scores 17 as Nets lose to Pelicans 112-85

Here are the Brooklyn Nets player grades following Tuesday’s 112-85 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Brooklyn Nets visited Smoothie King Center on Tuesday to take on the New Orleans Pelicans and lost 112-85.

For the Nets, Cam Johnson had 17 points and four rebounds while Mikal Bridges had 13 points and three rebounds. Day’Ron Sharpe had 12 points off the bench and Dennis Smith Jr. had nine points off the pine.

For the Pelicans, CJ McCollum had 16 points and five assists while Herbert Jones had 14 points and four rebounds. Jose Alvarado had 13 points off the bench and Brandon Ingram had 12 points.

In the first half, the Pelicans came out firing as they made their first six shots, four of which were three-pointers. Without sounding too hyperbolic, nothing good came from the Nets in the half as they shot just 28.3% from the field and 27.3% from three-point land.

In the second half, the Nets actually were competitive in the third quarter as they only lost the period 26-24 in a massive improvement from the first half. However, with Brooklyn down as much as they were, the fourth quarter was a showcase of each team’s bench as New Orleans dismantled the Nets from start to finish.

Here are your Nets player grades following Tuesday’s loss:

Player grades: Mikal Bridges scores 22 as Nets lose to Thunder 124-108

Here are your Brooklyn Nets player grades following Sunday’s 124-108 loss at the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Brooklyn Nets visited Paycom Center on New Year’s Eve to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder and lost 124-108.

For the Nets, Mikal Bridges had 22 points and seven assists while Cam Thomas had 20 points and one steal off the bench. Nic Claxton had 15 points and Cam Johnson had 13 points.

For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 24 points and six assists while Josh Giddey had 20 points and six rebounds. Chet Holmgren had 18 points and Lu Dort had 18 points.

In the first half, this game was a back-and-forth affair as the Thunder made every effort possible to play this contest in transition to allow their athleticism to be a factor. Brooklyn stuck with Oklahoma City throughout this game as Mikal Bridges and Cam Thomas combined for 33 points to keep the Nets in it.

In the second half, the bottom fell out for the Nets as they couldn’t keep up with the Thunder’s scoring and pace as the game wore on since Brooklyn kept missing shots. The issue came to a head in the fourth quarter as Oklahoma City led by as many as 21 points in a show of how much they ran away with this game.

Here are your Nets player grades following Sunday’s loss: