Tag: player grades

Player grades: Cam Thomas drops 45 in Nets’ 129-125 loss to Bucks

Here are the #Nets player grades following Monday’s 129-125 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets took on the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday at Barclays Center and lost 129-125.

For the Nets, Cam Thomas had 45 points and four rebounds while Mikal Bridges had 31 points and four assists. Lonnie Walker IV had 19 points off the bench and Royce O’Neale had 12 points.

For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 36 points and 12 rebounds while Damian Lillard had 21 points and seven assists. Khris Middleton had 15 points and Jae Crowder had 15 points off the bench.

In the first half, Brooklyn quickly found itself in a shootout as not only did Mikal Bridges and Cam Thomas get back on track, but Giannis Antetokounmpo was seemingly unstoppable in the paint. The Nets did a good job of limiting the impact of the stars surrounding Antetokounmpo as Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton, and Brook Lopez combined for 18 points on 7-of-19 shooting from the field.

In the second half, Brooklyn, as they have done for seemingly every game this season, battled Milwaukee to the very end thanks to continued offensive excellence from Thomas and Bridges. In the end, Antetokounmpo was just too much for the Nets to defend and Middleton started making too many shots for Brooklyn to come out on top.

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

Player grades: Cam Thomas drops 27 as Nets lose to Celtics 124-114

Here are the player grades for the Brooklyn Nets’ 124-114 loss to the Boston Celtics on Saturday.

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets faced the Boston Celtics at Barclays Center on Saturday in the second half of a back-to-back and lost 124-114.

For the Nets, Cam Thomas had 27 points and five rebounds while Spencer Dinwiddie had 19 points and six assists. Mikal Bridges had 19 points and Dorian Finney-Smith had 14 points.

For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum had 32 points and 11 rebounds while Jaylen Brown had 23 points and five rebounds. Kristaps Porzingis had 22 points and Jrue Holiday had 18 points.

In the first half, both teams battled to a stalemate for much of the half as neither team could gain much separation from the other because of how hard both teams were playing on both ends of the floor. Boston started pulling away from less than four minutes left in the second quarter as Boston’s trio of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kristaps Porzingis started rolling while Brooklyn had some trouble manufacturing consistent offense.

In the second half, it was more of the same as Brooklyn found a way to get back into the game after heading into halftime down 70-58. A common theme throughout the game was the Nets playing hard enough and making enough shots to keep the game in striking distance until the end when Boston’s superior talent essentially put the game back out of reach.

Here are your Nets player grades for Saturday’s loss:

Player grades: Dorian Finney-Smith scores 21 as Nets beat Bulls 109-107

Here are the Nets player grades following Friday’s 109-107 win over the Chicago Bulls in the first game of the NBA In-Season Tournament.

The Brooklyn Nets visited the United Center on Friday to face the Chicago Bulls in their first of four games of the NBA In-Season Tournament and won 109-107.

For the Nets, Dorian Finney-Smith had 21 points and three rebounds while Mikal Bridges had 20 points and three assists. Cam Thomas had 17 points and Lonnie Walker IV had 11 points.

For the Bulls, Zach LaVine had 24 points and seven rebounds while DeMar DeRozan had 24 points and four assists. Coby White had 18 points and Nikola Vucevic had 13 points.

In the first half, it was essentially a back-and-forth as neither team could stop the other from scoring for the entirety of the half. The Nets were leading as many 10 points before Chicago was able to make a run to cut their deficit to one point at halftime.

In the second half, it was a tale of two quarters as opposed to a tale of two halves. In the third quarter, the scoring for both teams significantly dropped as the defensive rotations picked up. In the end, Chicago did almost everything right to have a chance to tie the game at the final buzzer before LaVine missed a shot that he makes in his sleep.

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

Player grades: Mikal Bridges scores 21 as Nets stun Heat 109-105

Here are the Nets player grades for the Brooklyn Nets’ comeback victory against the Miami Heat on Wednesday.

The Brooklyn Nets visited Kaseya Center on Wednesday to square off against the Miami Heat and won 109-105.

For the Nets, Mikal Bridges had 21 points and seven rebounds while Lonnie Walker IV had 17 points and four assists off the bench. Armoni Brooks had 17 points and Dorian Finney-Smith had 15 points.

For the Heat, Tyler Herro had 30 points and five assists while Bam Adebayo had 21 points and 14 rebounds. Jimmy Butler had 20 points and Haywood Highsmith had nine points.

In the first half, Miami raced out to a 10-point lead thanks to some strong play from its trio of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Tyler Herro. The Heat had a solid offensive performance in the half, but Brooklyn had a tough time making anything happen on the offensive end of the floor.

In the second half, Brooklyn had a different idea for how they wanted the rest of this game to go. Thanks to excellent contributions from Armoni Brooks and Trendon Watford, the Nets were able to make a comeback of epic proportions in easily its best win of this young season.

Here are the Nets player grades following the win:

Player grades: Cam Thomas drops 33 as Nets beat Hornets 133-121

Here are the Nets player grades following the Brooklyn Nets’ 133-121 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday.

The Brooklyn Nets paid a visit to the Spectrum Center on Monday to face the Charlotte Hornets and won 133-121.

For the Nets, Cam Thomas had 33 points and two assists and Mikal Bridges had 24 points and seven rebounds. Dorian Finney-Smith had 19 points and Lonnie Walker IV had 19 points off the bench.

For the Hornets, Terry Rozier had 23 points and nine assists while Brandon Miller had 22 points and nine rebounds. Mark Williams had 18 points and Gordon Hayward had 15 points.

In the first half, Brooklyn got out to a fast start as they built a 15-2 lead with 9:34 left in the first quarter. The Nets essentially dominated this game until the last six minutes of the second quarter when the Hornets came back from a 21-point deficit to seven points.

In the second half, Charlotte continued to put up the better fight that they began in the second quarter as they started putting together more good possessions on both ends of the floor. The Nets did have some moments where they took their foot off the gas, but those moments did not last long as they made sure to not let this game get close towards the end.

Here are the Nets player grades for Monday’s win:

Player grades: Cam Thomas drops 30 as Nets lose to Mavericks 125-120

Here are the player grades following the Brooklyn Nets’ crushing 125-120 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.

The Brooklyn Nets went to American Airlines Center on Friday to take on the Dallas Mavericks and lost 125-120.

For the Nets, Cam Thomas had 30 points and seven rebounds while Spencer Dinwiddie had 23 points and eight assists. Mikal Bridges had 18 points and Lonnie Walker IV had 14 points off the bench.

For the Mavericks, Luka Doncic had 49 points and 10 rebounds while Tim Hardaway Jr. had 19 points and four rebounds. Kyrie Irving had 17 points and Dwight Powell had 11 points.

In the first half, both teams got up and down the court as neither squad found a consistent way of stopping the other. Spencer Dinwiddie went off for 15 points in the half while Cam Thomas scored 12 points. The Nets had some defensive miscues in its rotations and Dallas took advantage.

In the second half, both teams continued their back-and-forth nature of the game as Brooklyn and Dallas basically traded baskets. Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic absolutely went off towards the end of game and he made some shots that you just can’t defend.

Here are your Nets player grades following the close loss:

Player grades: Cam Thomas scores 36 in Nets’ heartbreaking loss to Cavs

Cam Thomas scored 36 points in the Brooklyn Nets’ 114-113 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers to open the season. Here are the player grades.

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets opened their 2023-24 season at Barclays Center on Wednesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers and lost 114-113.

For the Nets, Cam Thomas had 36 points and three rebounds while Mikal Bridges had 20 points and four assists. Cam Johnson had 12 points and Dorian Finney-Smith had 10 points off the bench.

For the Cavaliers, Donovan Mitchell had 27 points and four steals while Max Strus had 27 points and 12 rebounds. Issac Okoro had 18 points and Darius Garland had 15 points.

In the first half, both teams had trouble stopping the other as each squad shot at least 50% from the field and 47.8% from deep. Cam Thomas absolutely went off in the half as he scored 24 points in a variety of ways. Brooklyn got back into the game by leading in two areas: fastbreak points (18-7) and bench points (39-12).

In the second half, the defense for both teams picked up as it started to become clear that it was Thomas’ night. He was the one player that kept Brooklyn in the game and it was because of his incredible scoring in pivotal moments. In the end, the Nets struggled to run any efficient offense and that allowed Cleveland to stay in the game long enough for Donovan Mitchell to hit a dagger three to essentially end the game.

Here are your Nets player grades for the 2023-24 home opener:

10 best Saints PFF player grades on offense through their first 7 games

10 best Saints PFF player grades on offense through their first 7 games

It hasn’t been all bad for the New Orleans Saints offense through their first seven games — some notable players are giving it their all each week and putting the effort in to execute their assignments and try to help the team come away with a win. And they deserve to be recognized for their efforts.

So here are the top 10 Saints player grades from Pro Football Focus through the first seven weeks:

10 worst Saints PFF player grades on offense through their first 7 games

Here are the 10 lowest Saints Pro Football Focus player grades on offense through their first seven games:

There’s a lot of dirty hands when it comes to the New Orleans Saints offense — between the quarterback, play caller, offensive line, and skills positions, there’s enough blame to go around. And these Pro Football Focus player grades highlight the worst offenders.

We’ve filtered out anyone who hasn’t logged more than 10% of the offensive snaps through the Saints’ first seven games, which means players like wide receiver Lynn Bowden (40.7 grade on 47 snaps through five games) and rookie offensive lineman Nick Saldiveri (52.1 grade on 18 snaps across three games) are not included. This does give us a better idea of how the players who are participating more often are performing.

With that said, here are the Saints’ bottom-10 PFF player grades on offense going into Week 8:

Player grades: Lonnie Walker IV goes off as Nets beat Heat 107-104

Here are the player grades from the Brooklyn Nets’ preseason finale on Wednesday against the Miami Heat.

The Brooklyn Nets visited Kaseya Center on Wednesday to take on the Miami Heat for Brooklyn’s preseason finale and won 107-104.

For the Nets, Lonnie Walker IV had 22 points and four rebounds while Day’Ron Sharpe had 19 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks. Cam Thomas had 14 points and Mikal Bridges had 11 points.

For the Heat, Haywood Highsmith had 15 points and three rebounds while Cole Swider had 15 points and two rebounds. Bam Adebayo had 14 points and Duncan Robinson had 12 points.

In the first half, Brooklyn started the game in a shaky fashion as they couldn’t buy a bucket while they couldn’t stop the Heat from scoring at will. The second quarter was somewhat of a different story as the Nets were not giving up as many easy looks, but Miami was still able to score with relative ease.

In the second half, the Nets seemed to be the ones dictating the tempo as they were making an effort to get out and run at any chance they had. Brooklyn was able to build up a decent lead before Jacque Vaughn took out Mikal Bridges and Ben Simmons.

Here are the player grades for Wednesday’s preseason game: