Tag: Yuta Watanabe

Player grades: Kevin Durant scores 24 in Nets’ 118-100 win over Bucks

Kevin Durant scores 24 points in the convincing 118-100 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.

New York — The Brooklyn Nets welcomed the Milwaukee Bucks to Barclays Center on Friday and won 118-100. This is the second time that these teams have played each other this season.

For the Nets, Kevin Durant had 24 points and six assists while Nic Claxton had 19 points and eight rebounds. Kyrie Irving had 18 points and Royce O’Neale had 17.

For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 26 points and 13 rebounds as Brook Lopez had 23 points and five rebounds. Jrue Holiday had 18 points and Bobby Portis had 10 points off the bench.

The Nets won this game because of their ability to shoot the ball from behind the three-point line. The Bucks struggled mightily from the three as it looked like the Nets emphasized closing out on shooters.

The Nets also made the offense easy as they piled up assists by sharing the ball and looking for the open man whenever possible. Brooklyn was able to break down the Bucks’ defense and as a result of that, a lot of guys got wide open shots in this convincing win over Milwaukee.

Here are your Nets player grades:

Player grades: Kevin Durant swishes 23 as Nets steamroll Warriors 143-113

Nets take care of business against the Warriors

The Brooklyn Nets welcomed the short-handed Golden State Warriors to Barclays Center on Wednesday and won 143-133. The Nets are now on a seven-game winning streak and have won 11 of their past 12 games.

For the Nets, Kevin Durant had 23 points and seven rebounds while Edmond Sumner had 16 points and two assists off the bench. Royce O’Neale had 14 points and Patty Mills had 13 points off the pine.

For the Warriors, James Wiseman had 30 points and six rebounds while Moses Moody had 17 points and three assists. Patrick Baldwin Jr. had 17 points as a reserve and Ty Jerome had 14 points.

This game became lopsided very fast as the Nets were on fire from the field. It was clear that the Warriors were beat up as they did not have the services of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, or Andrew Wiggins. Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving was a late scratch because of tightness in his right calf, but it looked like the Nets didn’t need his services to win this game.

The Warriors did a good job of out-rebounding the Nets and did not have the worst game offensively, but it was clear that they did not have the firepower to keep up with the Nets. Brooklyn found itself getting wide open shots on virtually every possession as it looks like the Warriors were tired and wanted to just go home.

Here are your Nets player grades:

Player grades: Kevin Durant erupts for 43 points as the Nets beat the Pistons 124-121

Kevin Durant showed off what he could do despite being down as many as 19 points

The Brooklyn Nets came to Little Caesars Arena, but it was to take on the Detroit Pistons, not get some pizza. The Nets did more than get some cheese slices as they came away with a 124-121 win that shouldn’t have been that close.

For the Nets, Kevin Durant had 43 points and six rebounds while Kyrie Irving had 38 points and three assists. Royce O’Neale had 11 points as the only other Net who had double-figures in scoring.

For the Pistons, Bojan Bogdanovic had 26 points and four assists while Jaden Ivey had 19 points and four rebounds. Killian Hayes had 10 points and eight assists.

This game started in an unexpected way. Not only was it expected for the Nets to run away with this game, but the Pistons ambushed the Nets in the first quarter like Brooklyn was supposed to do to them. It was clear that the Nets came into this game underestimating Detroit missing Cade Cunningham.

The Pistons shot the ball well in the beginning, but that shooting came back down to earth once the Nets woke up in the second half. Detroit played their defensive coverages by shutting down the role players thereby hoping that Durant and Irving had off nights.

Well, that didn’t happen and if anything, the role players of the Nets were more confident in their games after seeing Durant and Irving go off.

Here are your Nets player grades:

Player grades: Kyrie Irving nets 32 points, hits game-winner in Nets’ win over Raptors

Kyrie Irving called game and sent the Raptors back home with the loss.

The Brooklyn Nets paid a visit to The North on Friday to take on the Toronto Raptors and came away with a 119-116 victory.

For the Nets, Kyrie Irving had 32 points (including the walk-off three over VanVleet) and five assists while Kevin Durant had 28 points and four rebounds. Nic Claxton had 15 points, 10 rebounds, and six blocks while Yuta Watanabe had 17 points and three rebounds off the bench.

For the Raptors, Fred VanVleet had 39 points and five rebounds and Scottie Barnes had 26 points and three rebounds. Pascal Siakam had 17 points and seven rebounds while Malachi Flynn had 13 points off the bench.

This was a physical game as the Raptors roughed up the Nets all game. Even though Brooklyn has been talking about shortening the gap in terms of shots, but that did not happen in this game.

Brooklyn did not start this game well as they struggled to play against the physical nature of the Raptors. The Nets used the third quarter to get back in the game and they won the battle of the boards 37-32.

Here are your Nets’ player grades:

Player grades: Kevin Durant drops 30 as Nets beat Wizards 112-100

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

The Brooklyn Nets paid a visit to the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on Monday and came away with a convincing 112-100 victory. The Nets now lead the regular-season series 3-0.

For the Nets, Kevin Durant had 30 points and nine rebounds while Kyrie Irving had 24 points and five assists. TJ Warren had 12 points off the bench and Joe Harris had 11 points.

For the Wizards, Will Barton had 22 points and seven assists off the bench while Kyle Kuzma had 20 points and seven rebounds. Kristaps Porzingis had 20 points and three rebounds (before leaving the game with back tightness) and Jordan Goodwin had 11 points.

This was a convincing win for the Nets as they led for much of the game behind the play of Durant and Irving. Nic Claxton got into foul trouble in the first half trying to guard Porzingis and with Claxton out of the game, the Wizards were able to attack the rim with good success. The Nets lost the rebounding battle to the Wizards 44-41 and that’s what kept Washington in the game for as long as they did.

Brooklyn added seven blocks to their resume as the best shot-blocking team in the NBA and that was surprising given that Claxton did not play his usual minutes because of foul trouble. The Nets took advantage of scoring in transition and trying to score in the paint whenever possible.

Here are your Nets’ player grades:

Player grades: Cam Thomas scores 33 as Nets beat Pacers 136-133

Here are the Nets’ player grades for Saturday’s win over the Indiana Pacers.

The Brooklyn Nets visited the Indiana Pacers on Saturday and won 136-133. This was the fourth and final matchup between these two teams this season and the regular-season series is tied at 2-2.

For the Nets, Cam Thomas had 33 points and three rebounds off the bench while Patty Mills had 24 points and six assists. Day’Ron Sharpe had 20 points and 12 rebounds as Edmond Sumner had 20 points and seven rebounds.

For the Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton had 35 points and nine assists as Buddy Hield had 17 points and four rebounds. Myles Turner had 16 points and three rebounds while Oshae Brissett had 14 points and three rebounds off the bench.

In a game where the Nets rested eight players including Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn still had six players in double figures. Not much defense was played in this game by either team, but the Nets were able to limit the Pacers in the second a tad by allowing them to score only 24 points in the third quarter.

The Nets couldn’t hit many 3s, but they did win the rebounding battle 59-30 which includes 29 offensive rebounds. The Nets only had 19 assists as they were relying more on players like Thomas and Mills to hit shots off the dribble or guys like Sumner getting to the rim. Turnovers were an issue for the Nets, but in the end, the 25-11 run Brooklyn made from the middle of the third quarter to the beginning of the fourth quarter was huge.

Here are the Nets’ player grades:

Nets’ Ben Simmons available against the Atlanta Hawks; Yuta Watanabe out

See who’s in and who’s out for Friday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks.

Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons will be available for Friday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks, according to the NBA’s official injury report. Simmons will return after missing four games with a left calf injury.

Simmons coming back should push Joe Harris back to the bench as he was starting in place of Simmons. Simmons is averaging 8.4 points and 5.8 assists per game while shooting 61.4% from the field.

Wing Yuta Watanabe has been ruled out against the Hawks as he continues to deal with his hamstring injury. Coach Jacque Vaughn said during his pregame press conference before the Hornets game that Watanabe was “on track” to play this weekend so Watanabe could play against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.

Wing David Duke Jr. and center Day’Ron Sharpe are available against the Hawks as well.

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Nets coach Jacque Vaughn gives promising updates on Watanabe and Warren

The Nets are hopeful that two key role players will return this week.

Before the Brooklyn Nets’ win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, coach Jacque Vaughn gave promising updates on sharpshooting big Yuta Watanabe and T.J. Warren. Vaughn said both players are “trending toward” being available in the coming week.

According to NBA insider Shams Charania, the Nets are targeting a December 2nd return for Warren against the Toronto Raptors.

Watanabe is putting up eight points per game while shooting a league-best 57 percent from behind the arc, and teammate Kyrie Irving feels that Watanabe is the best shooter in the league.

Warren was picked up this offseason and needed time to recover from a foot injury, and has only played four games in the last two seasons. As an efficient shooter from the bench, the Nets have been awaiting his return.

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Kyrie Irving says Yuta Watanabe is the ‘best shooter in the world right now’

Here’s who Kyrie Irving says is the best shooter in the world right now

Brooklyn Nets superstar Kyrie Irving is one of the best players in the NBA right now and throughout his career, he has been around some great players. That made what Irving had to say about wing Yuta Watanabe after their 115-106 win over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday important.

Watanabe is currently out with a hamstring injury and will miss Friday’s game against the Indiana Pacers because of it. When Watanabe is on the court, he is the energetic, do-it-all wing who is at his best as a slasher.

However, to start the this season, Watanabe has been lights out from the three-point line. Watanabe is shooting 57.1% from three-point land and that leads the NBA by a wide margin (Dallas Mavericks guard Josh Green is second at 52.9%).

Here’s what Irving had to say about how Watanabe has played so far this season:

“He’s (Watanabe) the best shooter in the world right now. You know, stats prove that he’s the best shooter in the best league in the world right now. We just want him to remain confident and shoot the opportunities that he gets out there. He makes the game a lot easier for us and when you have guys that are willing to sacrifice their body night to night, you want to reward them. Especially when they’re shooting the ball well.”

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Nets player grades: Ben Simmons, Nets beat Grizzlies in Kyrie Irving’s return

Grading every Nets player after a 127-115 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.

The Brooklyn Nets came back home from a four-game west coast road trip to take on the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday and won 127-115.

Nets superstar Kevin Durant scored 26 points to continue his streak of games with at least 25 points while guard Ben Simmons showed off his all-around skill set with 22 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Kyrie Irving, back from a team-imposed suspension, scored 14 points.

Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks had 31 points on 30 shots and center Steven Adams had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Memphis was short-handed for this game as they were missing Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr.

This game was back-and-forth through three quarters as not much defense was played by either team. The Nets ran away with the game when they opened the fourth quarter with a 18-5 run that the Grizzlies couldn’t stop with Brooks as the only guy who could create his own shot. Nets center Nic Claxton missed Sunday’s game for personal reasons.

The Nets had a dazzling performance to pull away from the Memphis Grizzlies and here are the Nets player grades: