Brooklyn Nets: Player grades from another homecourt loss to Cavaliers

D’Angelo Russell had a couple of hot stretches Monday night, scoring 12 points in the first quarter and coming back with 14 in the third, but he was just 2-for-10 in the fourth, finishing with 30 points on 31 shots.

While frequently criticizing Russell for his lack of efficiency and consistency, the fourth-year guard did what he had to do to keep the Brooklyn Nets close Monday night.

Shots weren’t really falling for much of anyone on the night — Brooklyn shot 39.4 percent for the game, the third time in the last four games the Nets have been sub-40 percent — and Russell’s volume-scoring approach was just about the only offense Brooklyn could generate.

He did yeoman’s work on the glass, as well, with four offensive rebounds, led the club with a game-high six assists and had a pair of steals.

If you are looking for a scapegoat from the loss to the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers, Russell isn’t your guy.

Allen Crabbe made his second shot attempt of the game on Monday. Annnnnd, nothing.

Crabbe did other things, yes. His eight rebounds were nice. He played a fair game defensively until he got taken off the bounce by Alec Burks on the game-winner for the Cavaliers.

But here’s the harsh, brutal truth: The Brooklyn Nets didn’t trade for Crabbe and his $18.5 million salary to rebound and play a little bit of D. His value comes from making shots and he’s just not doing that often.

With Monday’s dud in the books, Crabbe is now shooting 31.2 percent overall and 34.3 percent from 3-point range on the season.

Among the 153 NBA players with at least 15 games played and a minimum of eight shot attempts per game, Crabbe’s field-goal percentage is 153rd — by a large margin, per Basketball-Reference. The next closest player on the list is New York Knicks rookie Kevin Knox at 33.8 percent.