Nothin' But Nets
Fansided

Brooklyn Nets: Player grades from schedule loss at Boston

By Phil Watson

Brooklyn Nets Rodions Kurucs (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
Brooklyn Nets Rodions Kurucs (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /
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Brooklyn Nets
Brooklyn Nets Kenneth Faried. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) /

C-. 33 MIN, 10 PTS, 4-for-12 (2-for-9), 5 REB, 6 AST, 3 PF, 1 STL, 5 TO, 2 BLK, -16. SG/PG. Brooklyn Nets. SHABAZZ NAPIER

It was a nice homecoming for Boston-area native Shabazz Napier, who made just his 23rd career start and only his second in his hometown.

It was also Napier’s first start since joining the Brooklyn Nets as an unrestricted free agent last summer, as he got the call in place of injured Joe Harris.

Napier, who played his high school ball at a pair of schools in the Greater Boston area, hit a 3-pointer right out of the chute.

It kind of went downhill from there. Napier was one of just two Brooklyn starters in double-figures with 10 points, but it came on 12 shots as he was ice cold after the initial make. He did have six assists, but also turned the ball over five times.

Napier got the start after averaging 16.6 points, 3.8 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 23.8 minutes per game over his last five games, shooting 52.0 percent overall and 44.0 percent from long range.

But like many of the Nets who saw action Monday, it just wasn’t Napier’s night.

B+. 29 MIN, 13 PTS, 5-for-10 (1-for-4), 2-for-2 FT, 12 REB (5 ORB), 1 AST, 1 PF, 1 STL, 1 TO, 1 BLK, -14. PF/C. Brooklyn Nets. KENNETH FARIED

Kenneth Faried made just his 11th appearance of the season and logged a season-high 29 minutes before he hobbled off with an injury late in the game.

He finished with his second straight double-double, following up on his big performance against the Milwaukee Bucks on Dec. 29 before sitting out the last three games.

Faried stroked a corner 3 for his first long-range make since the final game of the 2015-16 season, when he was with the Denver Nuggets, and was his usual beastly self on the glass.

He also had a Manimal-sized block on Boston backup center Daniel Theis in the second half.

As of this writing, there was no update on Faried’s status after he came down awkwardly on one leg while attempting to get a rebound.