Gave away a turnover on what was potentially the turning point of the game, leading to back-to-back three-point plays by Nene. Airballed his first three but proceeded to make a couple. Slightly over 50% of his attempts last season were from three-point range, and it looks like he’s going to shatter that figure this year.
Almost didn’t play due to illness and didn’t play like a healthy Paul Pierce. Came in in overtime and scored — had the Nets won in regulation, it would’ve been just the second time in Pierce’s career he was held scoreless in a game, and the first since he was a a rookie.
Good minutes spelling Deron Williams, attacking the rim with purpose and running the offense. Kept Williams on the bench through most of the fourth quarter.
Looked less stiff than at any point in this early season, which bodes well for his back, but also didn’t play in the second half.
Struggled through most of the game, couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn with a tractor, started off 1-for-9 from the field, got eaten up trying to defend Nene… and hits what was nearly the biggest jumper of the night without hesitation, before emphatically throwing back a layup that would have tied the game. Holding aside that he missed a boxout on Nene that allowed Nene to put back a layup and tie the game heading into overtime, I guess the lesson here is never doubt Kevin Garnett, until you have to doubt Kevin Garnett. I’m so confused.
Sat the entire first half but provided a nice spark off the bench in the late third and early fourth quarter.
Hard to contextualize. He’s slow, but is he slow because his ankle isn’t 100%, or because he’s not playing at full speed against the Wizards, or because this is still his training camp, or because something else is wrong? Had a few good moments, notably a crazy flip-up through contact in overtime and a three-pointer, but struggled to make an impact like he should and Rob Ford is trying to smoke his defense.
Had some corner 3 target practice in the first half, then led some ugly iso-Joe possessions in the third quarter, before taking over and helping lead the Nets back into the game. Generally outplayed by Bradley Beal, but not embarrassingly so.
Another dominant performance from The Brookie Monster on both ends. Got beaten a few more times by Marcin Gortat than you’d like, including one dunk that he barely contested and a layup he actively avoided, but did a great job contesting most shots in the paint and absolutely dominated every time he caught the ball within seven feet. The only thing that keeps this from such a good grade: why did he stop looking to get his offense in the second half? The Nets didn’t necessarily avoid him, he just looked like he wasn’t interested in getting his own offense for stretches of possessions. He had such a dominant first half, and followed it up with barely anything.
Endured the boovation and a couple of bad early plays to put up a solid game, attacking the rim and hitting a few midrange jumpers, but he shouldn’t have started in overtime. The crowd took particular delight when Blatche missed two free throws in the overtime, but not just because of their disdain — an opponent missing two free throws means the entire crowd gets a free Chik-Fil-A sandwich.
