Brooklyn Nets: Player grades from near miss in New Orleans
By Phil Watson
A-. 28 MIN, 7 PTS (3-for-6), 9 REB (5 ORB), 4 AST, 2 PF, 2 STL, 2 TO, 2 BLK, -7. C. Brooklyn Nets. JARRETT ALLEN
It can’t be understated how very good Jarrett Allen was on the defensive end Friday night. Faced with the challenge of slowing down Anthony Davis, who entered play averaging more than 30 points per game, Allen met him head on and contained the All-Star big man very well.
Davis scored 18 points with 14 rebounds, but was only 6-for-19 from the floor as Allen did a terrific job when matched against Davis of contesting shots and keeping him from getting positions he wanted.
Yes, Davis obliterated Allen on a dunk when he had a run from the top of the circle in the third quarter, but one play doth not an entire game make.
Allen also had five offensive rebounds and his passing — sometimes shaky — was solid as he dished four assists, including a terrific back-door feed to a cutting Caris LeVert for an easy deuce.
B-. 28 MIN, 24 PTS, 9-for-16 (6-for-9), 5 REB (1 ORB), 4 AST, 2 PF, 1 ST, 5 TO, -5. PG. Brooklyn Nets. D'ANGELO RUSSELL
D’Angelo Russell cooled off a bit in the second half after a huge first half performance that included 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting and 4-for-4 from 3-point range.
He was also active on the glass — part of Brooklyn’s gang-rebounding mentality of late — and made some good decisions with the ball.
Unfortunately, Russell also made some very poor decisions with the ball, which led to a team-high five turnovers — including a game-changing mistake in the closing seconds that ultimately cost the Nets the game.
Scoring is great, but until Russell can figure out how to be a reliable decision-maker with the basketball, the Nets are going to suffer through those mistakes.