Player grades: Cam Thomas drops 25 as Nets beat Spurs 123-103
NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets welcomed Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs to Barclays Center on Saturday and won 123-103.
For the Nets, Cam Thomas had 25 points and four assists while Nic Claxton had 20 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks. Dennis Schroder had 15 points and 12 assists off the bench in his Nets debut and Mikal Bridges had 14 points.
For the Spurs, Wembanyama had 21 points and four rebounds while Keldon Johnson had 19 points and four rebounds off the bench. Devin Vassell had 17 points and Jeremy Sochan had eight points.
In the first half, the Nets initially had trouble dealing with Wembanyama and Devin Vassell as Wembanyama continued to draw fouls on Brooklyn’s frontcourt in some questionable calls during post play. However, Dennis Schroder put up 10 points and six assists in the half during his debut with the Nets.
In the second half, the Nets played the Spurs to more of a standstill as Brooklyn wasn’t able to rip off a game-changing run to essentially put the game away. However, the Nets consistently played better than the Spurs in this one as those small wins within quarters added up to a blowout win.
Here are your Nets player grades following Saturday’s win:
Ben Simmons: B+
Simmons played well in this one as he was aggressive driving to the rim from the beginning of this contest. While Simmons had plenty of opportunities to shoot the basketball more, he did a great job of putting pressure on the rim and taking the shots where he had the clear advantage over his defender. Simmons did a good job of passing the ball and playing some disruptive defense on the perimeter and in the post against Wembanyama.
Cam Thomas: A
Thomas did a good job of bouncing back after some rough shooting games that he had experienced lately. From the beginning of this game, it seemed like Thomas was playing with more confidence than he had previously showed over the past few games. He also did a good job of playing his all-around game as he passed the ball well and was good enough on the defensive end that the Spurs weren’t able to find a lot of success going at him.
Mikal Bridges: B-
Bridges had a solid game in this one as he did not force too many bad shots in this one and actually found some openings thanks to other guys making shots like Cam Thomas and Dennis Schroder. Bridges has done most of his damage recently from three-point range and that is an interesting development in his game from the beginning of the year when he was working exclusively in the mid-range. He also did a good job of rebounding the basketball and playing some solid defense on the perimeter for the Nets.
Dorian Finney-Smith: C-
Finney-Smith came back to the Nets’ lineup after missing some time with a left ankle sprain and he had an underwhelming performance. Granted, he was under a minutes restriction so it seems that he was playing in short stints instead of his usual minutes as the starting power forward. It looked like Finney-Smith is still working his way back into playing shape as he also had an issue with foul trouble in this one, but he will be back into his normal groove soon.
Nic Claxton: A+
Claxton was great in this one as he went toe-to-toe with rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama and held his own. While Claxton is a good player in his own right, the Wembanyama hype train has been chugging all season long so it was good to see Claxton show everyone watching that he’s worthy of his own hype as well. Claxton made sure to go at his defender, whether it was Wembanyama or not. Claxton plays hard in every matchup, but it seems that he gets up for matchups against other quality big men and he has been more than ready for those moments.
Jalen Wilson: B
Wilson did not start in this game, but he still impressed during his time on the floor due to how hard he plays on both ends of the floor. It has been great to see Wilson’s three-point shooting translate from the G League to his minutes with the Nets and it he continues to couple that with his effort plays, he can provide consistent play within Brooklyn’s rotation. Wilson did a great job rebounding the basketball and he was pretty disruptive on the defensive end of the floor for the Nets in this contest.
Dennis Schroder: A
Schroder played in his first game with the Nets and was absolutely incredible on both ends of the floor. He was playing with a minutes restriction and he was coming off the bench and yet, Schroder was able to be arguably the most impactful player for Brooklyn. Schroder had one of those games that gives a team’s fanbase belief that he could be the spark that the Nets need to turn their season around. It’s only one game, but Schroder was great on both ends of the floor and could be one of the underrated trades acquisitions of this season.
Dennis Smith Jr.: B+
Smith played well in this one and he proved to be impactful on the offensive end of the floor as well as the defensive end like he usually does. He did a great job of attacking the rim and he was surprisingly effective from three-point range which is something that makes him a lot more dangerous on the offensive end than he usually is. He did a great job of rebounding the basketball and he was his usual disruptive self on the defensive end.
Trendon Watford: C
Watford came into the game due to how much foul trouble Brooklyn’s frontcourt was in after dealing with Victor Wembanyama. Watford didn’t play much, but he did have some nice plays on the offensive end and was able to provide some rest for players like Nic Claxton while they dealt with having to sit on the bench.
Lonnie Walker IV: D
Walker surprisingly did not play much in this contest and it was hard to tell whether that was due to the Nets being cautious with him given his hamstring injury or if he lost some of his minutes to players like Dorian Finney-Smith and Dennis Schroder. Either way, Walker came into the game in the beginning of the third quarter and after coming out six minutes later, he did not make another appearance. Walker looked physically fine during his time on the floor so that was good to see.
