Brooklyn Nets: Player grades from win No. 4 in a row over Wizards
By Phil Watson
Brooklyn Nets. JOE HARRIS. B+. 31 MIN, 19 PTS, 8-for-13 (3-for-7), 2 REB,. 6 AST, 1 PF, 1 STL, 1 TO, 1 BLK, +3. SG
Joe Harris put together a solid all-around night for the Brooklyn Nets, canning three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter after missing his first four attempts of the game and dishing out a season-high six assists in the win.
Harris was also aggressive in going to the basket, going 5-for-6 inside the arc — all on drives. Harris had 12 drives on the night, per stats.nba.com, scoring 10 points with two assists on those runs to the rim.
That’s reminiscent of Harris’ performance last season, when he was the NBA’s top finisher on drives at 62.7 percent, scoring on 84-of-134 shots at the rim.
Defensively, he did have some trouble with Bradley Beal, who finished with 31 points and nine assists, but Harris is far from the first defender that has been given fits by Beal, an All-Star last season.
A. 30 MIN, 15 PTS, 5-for-6 (1-for-1), 4-for-4 FT, 6 REB (1 ORB), 1 AST, 1 PF, +5. SF/PF. Brooklyn Nets. RODIONS KURUCS
It’s hard to imagine how Rodions Kurucs could have been much better in his first career start.
Becoming the youngest non-American starter in franchise history, Kurucs was aggressive and around the ball — just like he had been in 12 appearances off the bench — and continues to make general manager Sean Marks look like a genius.
Kurucs, the 40th overall pick in last June’s NBA Draft, is now averaging 7.7 points and 3.2 rebounds in 14.3 minutes per game and improved his shooting to 52.1 percent overall and 30.8 percent from 3-point range. He’s also 16-of-17 at the foul line, so there’s that.
His 7.7 points per game average is the highest among any second-round pick in this year’s draft and is 11th overall in the entire draft class despite playing almost seven minutes per game less than any of the players in the top-10.
If you’re looking for the steal of the 2018 NBA Draft, he might just be from Latvia via Barcelona.