Brooklyn Nets: Player grades from another homecourt loss to Cavaliers

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The Brooklyn Nets have lost 7 straight games at home and 7 in a row overall after Monday’s 99-97 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Before the start of the Brooklyn Nets‘ four-game homestand on Nov. 24, coach Kenny Atkinson talked about the importance of capitalizing on a stretch of eight games bridging November and December in which Brooklyn would play at Barclays Center seven times.

Atkinson told the media, via the New York Post:

"“We’ve got to make some money. We’re seven of the next eight at home if I’m correct. It’s a great opportunity, especially with the schedule we’ve had, tough schedule. … [It’s] important that we get off to a good start in front of our home fans. “We need to make some money these next seven, eight games.”"

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After Monday night’s 99-97 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, it’s apparent the repo man has already visited several times, because the Nets (8-17) are 0-6 during this critical eight-game stretch, including dropping five games at home.

Brooklyn has lost seven straight at home overall, with the last win at Barclays Center coming exactly a month ago in the 122-97 thumping of the Philadelphia 76ers on Nov. 4.

The Nets are just 3-9 this season at home, while going a respectable 5-8 on the road. Monday’s loss was also Brooklyn’s seventh straight overall. One could take the ever-so-small ray of optimism from the fact the Nets didn’t blow a fourth-quarter lead against the Cavaliers (5-18).

Instead, the Nets fought back from an 11-point deficit in the fourth to tie the game at 97-97 on Rodions Kurucs‘ putback of D’Angelo Russell‘s off-target 3-point attempt with 18.9 seconds to go.

Alec Burks, in just his third game with Cleveland since being acquired last week from the Utah Jazz in a trade, split Allen Crabbe and Spencer Dinwiddie on his way to the rim for a dunk, and ultimately the win, with 3.2 seconds remaining.

The Nets had four players inactive on Monday.

Two were due to injury: Treveon Graham (left hamstring strain) and Caris LeVert (subtalar dislocation, right foot), with the Nets’ pair of players on two-way contracts, Theo Pinson and Alan Williams, both with the NBA G League’s Long Island Nets.

Of the players dressed, Joe Harris did not play, missing his third straight game due to tightness in his left adductor; while Kenneth Faried took his 16th DNP-CD of the season in 24 games active and rookie Dzanan Musa was a DNP-CD for the ninth time in 16 active games.

Here are the player grades from Monday’s loss.