Player grades: Mikal Bridges scores 23 as Nets beat Maccabi Ra’anana 135-103
The Brooklyn Nets played Israeli pro basketball team Maccabi Ra’anana at Barclays Center on Thursday for their second game of the preseason and won 135-103.
For the Nets, Mikal Bridges had 23 points and three rebounds while Harry Giles III had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Spencer Dinwiddie had 15 points and Ben Simmons had six points, six rebounds, and nine assists.
For Maccabi Ra’anana, Quinndary Weatherspoon had 17 points and four assists while Dwayne Bacon had 17 points and five rebounds. Dakarai Tucker had 14 points and Jason Siggers had 12 points.
In the first half, Maccabi came to play as they exited the first quarter with a 39-34 lead. Maccabi has some NBA players that are looking for exposure in this game and it looks like all of them came ready to play and were raining threes. In the second quarter, the momentum of the game changed as Brooklyn tightened up its perimeter defense and started running the floor harder.
In the second half, Brooklyn continued to put the pressure on Maccabi to get back fast on the defensive end or they would risk giving up layup after layup. As both teams went deeper into their respective benches, the gap widened while Barclays Center got a good look at most of the players that will be taking the floor for Brooklyn in the regular season.
Here are the player grades for the Nets in Thursday’s game:
Ben Simmons: A
Simmons looked like a different player in this game. From the beginning, he was trying to push the tempo and it seemed that he got more intense as the contest went on. The main thing that he was showing that we weren’t seeing last season was his penchant for making flashy moves and sudden movements. Against Maccabi Ra’anana, Simmons showed that he’s able to play and is physically ready.
Spencer Dinwiddie: B
Dinwiddie has been doing a good job of embracing his role as more of an off-guard this season now that Ben Simmons is healthy and ready to run the point. That has allowed Dinwiddie to focus more of his attention on spacing the floor and giving great passes to his teammates when the opportunity arises. Dinwiddie seems to be in the perfect role for the things that he does best and Thursday’s game was another show of that.
Cam Thomas: C-
The first two games of this preseason is an example of what the Cam Thomas experience is like for Brooklyn right now. Thomas is no doubt one of the best scorers on the team, but the main question has been what can he do for the team when his shot wasn’t falling. The good thing is, he did a good job of rebounding and setting up his teammates, but the defense was lacking at the point of attack. That is a work-in-progress for Thomas.
Mikal Bridges: B
Bridges did not shoot particularly well in this game, but it looks like he is trying to adjust to more of an off-ball role as well. Last season, Bridges had the ball in his hands and this season, he has to find a way to co-exist on the court with Simmons and so far, it hasn’t looked too bad. It will be one of the main adjustments that Bridges has to make, but with the way that he shoots the three-ball, Bridges will be just fine.
Harry Giles III: A+
Giles III had a wonderful game on Thursday as he was active on both ends of the floor. Replacing Nic Claxton in the starting lineup, Giles accepted the challenge and exceeded expectations. Giles, who has always been a talented player, showed what he can do when given the playing time and when he is healthy. He was incredible on the boards and challenging shots on the interior.
Dorian Finney-Smith: C
Finney-Smith did not shoot much in this one, but the hope is that he can make more of his shots from deep, especially considering that Ben Simmons is able to set him up for some easy shots now. Finney-Smith did a good job of competing on the boards and he picked up where he left off last season as an overall defender.
Noah Clowney: B-
Clowney looked much better in this game than he did in Monday’s preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Clowney did not look as starstruck from being on the floor and he even played with some intensity the longer that he was in the game. When it comes to Clowney, the good thing to see is that he is already starting to figure when he can make use of certain actions, such as when it’s a good time to leak out for an easy layup or when to run the floor. As has been said before, Clowney will have to work on being more of a presence on the interior, but that will come with time.
Royce O'Neale: C-
O’Neale did get some shots up in this one and while he is normally dependable from three-point range, he did not make that expectation in terms of making those shots. It is a preseason game so there is no need to worry about what O’Neale can do once the season starts. One takeaway from what O’Neale did in this game was how he held his own as a post defender. He may have to provide that at various times throughout this upcoming season.
Lonnie Walker IV: B+
Walker was incredible in this contest on both ends of the floor. He was on fire when it came to scoring as he made some threes and he attacked the rim effectively as well. One encouraging thing to see from Walker in this one was how hard he was competing on the defensive end. Brooklyn needs Walker to score the basketball, but if he is going to earn more minutes within the guard rotation, being a hard worker on defense will only make him that much more valuable.
Dennis Smith Jr.: Incomplete
Dennis Smith Jr. left this game after just two minutes as he landed awkwardly after shooting a three-pointer towards the end of the first quarter. After walking gingerly to the locker room, Smith was ruled out by the Nets in the second quarter.
Darius Bazley: B+
Bazley had a rough time shooting the basketball in this one as it looks like he’s still trying to find his way in this offense. His instincts are there in that he knows that he should be attacking the rim, but since he is usually one of two bigs on the floor, he usually runs into trouble trying to attack a paint filled with trees. However, Bazley was awesome on the glass. His energy and overall physical prowess really aid him in the rebounding phase of the game and on defense as well.
Trendon Watford: B
Watford did more in this game of what he showed on Monday against the Lakers. It looks like Jacque Vaughn is comfortable with having the ball in Watford’s hands and that could make for some interesting lineups whenever Vaughn goes to the bench. From the moment that he entered the game, it looked like Watford smelled blood in the water as he was physical from the get, generating an absurd amount of free-throws. Watford also did his work on the glass and he used his physicality to overpower whoever was trying to box him out.
Armoni Brooks: B
Brooks showed on Thursday why he earned a Two-Way contract from the Nets after the summer league. Brooks came into this game looking to shoot and he hit some deep looks as a result. One thing Jacque Vaughn has talked about is how important shooting is and Brooks is showing that as long as he can hit those threes, he should be able to find playing time in some way.
Jalen Wilson: B-
Like Noah Clowney, Wilson played better in this game than he did on Monday. While Wilson’s issues are more than just being a rookie, in this game, he looked to be piecing together where he should be at a faster rate than he has shown so far. Wilson showed some nice footwork in the post and he displayed some strong ability to finish at the rim when there wasn’t a big contesting him at the rim.
