Net Worth: Brooklyn Nets 107, Toronto Raptors 100

Deron-Williams
Deron Williams POINT GUARD

Came to clown guys, and while he painted a few faces scoring and dishing, he also just ended up shooting some silly shots and throwing passes behind teammates. Hit big free throws down the stretch. Kind of unsettling that he was the second-best point guard on the floor tonight; had his hands full with Kyle Lowry on D. In fairness, part of that was Lowry just catching fire, but he was oddly “very good” for his superstar expectations.

Joe Johnson SHOOTING GUARD

Was at his best when spotting up, but the Nets tried to run one too many isolation plays for him. Didn’t post up at all. Get him out of that comfort zone!

Gerald Wallace SMALL FORWARD

I should copy and paste the following recap for the next 81+ games: worked his ass off. Took open shots, hit some of them. played great, hounding defense, though got caught on some rough weak-side rotations. Injured himself on one of the last plays of the game, blocking a Kyle Lowry fast-break layup off the glass.

Kris Humphries POWER FORWARD

Sat during crunch time in the fourth in favor of a two-PG lineup with C.J. Watson. Didn’t do too much during his time on the floor, though he didn’t have much time to do it.

Brook Lopez CENTER

Offensively: looked incredible. Nailed a huge and-one off a pretty feed to put the Nets up five with under a minute left. Scored off cuts and post-ups inside, though his jumper didn’t fall. Defensively, he hedged on pick-and-rolls for perhaps the first time in three years, but wasn’t quick enough getting back into the defensive rotations. Did get one nice stuff on Jonas Valanciunas in the third, but didn’t do much to dispel his critics that argue the team will struggle defensively with him at center. All in all a very positive performance for Lopez, with one further positive note: he appeared to get sprier as the game progressed.

Andray Blatche POWER FORWARD

I want to believe. I do. But Dray day was not today. He may be the only human being in the National Basketball Association that takes longer to recover defensively than Lopez does. It’s not that he’s slower, he just jogs gingerly, like he’s on two bad ankles.

MarShon Brooks SHOOTING GUARD

Made the most of some crunch time minutes, hitting a couple of bad shots. I’ll take it.

Reggie Evans POWER FORWARD

“There go that man Reggie.” Boards are camp food and Reggie’s a grizzly bear. Incredible energy off the bench in the middle frames to help take and then maintain the lead. Kept Mirza Teletovic on the bench on the strength of his intensity alone.

C.J. Watson POINT GUARD

A huge key in Brooklyn’s second-quarter run. Hit open threes, ran out in transition for easy layups, and played well both on and off the ball. Earned his crunch time minutes next to Deron Williams and made the most of them.