New game, same story. The Nets dropped every quarter to the Rockets and finished the game with zero points in the standings, losing 101-75.
Today, they were the victims of a Nick Johnson triple-double and 28 turnovers. Yes, twenty-eight turnovers. I didn’t have a ton of thoughts watching this slow burn of a blowout, but here they are:
Co-MVPs: Marquis Teague and Corey Jefferson:
This may be the best basketball I’ve ever seen from Marquis Teague. Honestly, I’m not pulling any pranks here. He finished with 6 assists in the first quarter and didn’t make me throw up once, both records. At halftime, Hollins spoke with the NBA TV crew and said that he told Teague to be aggressive, confident and prove that he belongs in the NBA. Teague took it to heart, exhibiting a bevy of speed and athleticism.
He finished with 7 points, 7 assists, 3 steals, 4 turnovers on 1-5 shooting. Admittedly, at first glance, those aren’t eye-popping numbers, but Teague played with an unmistakable fervor, something that has been missing from his game since last season’s trade. Is there hope for Teague?
As for Corey Jefferson, he saved his best for last. He shot 5-5 in the first half and threw down perhaps the Nets’ best highlight of the night: an alley-oop from Teague. If Jefferson can sneak onto the team, he’ll provide some nice hustle minutes and athleticism. Lost in the blowout was Jefferson’s final stat-line: 19 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 3 blocks and just 1 turnover in 25 minutes. Not bad for the 60th pick, eh?
Mason Plumlee, of course, did not play. Winer noted that he has no injury and that he wasn’t even with the team today. No need to watch Plumlee tear up Summer League again when he could be spending his time watching inspirational sports movies with Kevin Garnett.
Sergey Karasev looked a little nervous in his first stint with Brooklyn. It’s not particularly shocking given that he just spent a few weeks training and practicing with the Cavaliers and got dropped into a new lineup. Late in the fourth, however, Karasev started to come out of his shell and hit a couple threes and a runner in the paint.
He finished with 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in 33 minutes. Whether or not you think he impressed tonight, the Nets seem high on him and should get his chances this season with Brooklyn.
With Jorge Gutierrez out still, Gill talked about his haircut for the first three minutes of the second half. Immediately followed up by Winer saying: “This has been a blast this week.” It appears as if they forgot there was basketball on and who can blame them?
Markel Brown had a quiet game, but had to duck in order to avoid hitting his head on the rim while grabbing a rebound. So there’s that.
Last year, after the conclusion of the Nets’ final Summer League game blowout, I tweeted: “Is it September yet?” Let’s not ruin that tradition. Is it September yet?
