If you’re the fan who refuses to get too high on Summer League, but also the kind who’s keen to see the crown knocked off the recently-anointed New York Knicks, Brooklyn’s fourth game this summer likely put your spirit in a pretzel.
The Nets met their cross-town rival a couple of thousands of miles away this afternoon to kick off their run in the Las Vegas Summer League. New York, the team without any game action yet this month, looked the part throughout the entire contest, needing every minute and more to find their groove. The Nets needed the first half and about three minutes of the third quarter, but no more.
And in the end, it was another eye-opening performance for Brooklyn’s Backcourt as Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. scored 20 points each and dominated New York, 91-65.
While Brooklyn entered this one already with three games under their belt, this was our first look at sophomore Danny Wolf. The Yale x Michigan product did not play at all in Sacramento but started this afternoon alongside Mikel Brown Jr., Egor Dëmin, Drake Powell, and Chaney Johnson. However, Brown Jr., fresh off a fine first game himself on Monday night, got the mic with Chris Haynes pregame.
“I feel like I hold myself to an expectation that’s higher than what other people are saying,” he said when asked about the hype around him as a prospect. “Obviously, you know, I feel like if you have expectation on you, that means you’re expected to be a great player. So just, you know, embracing it.”
For a second straight game, Brooklyn’s first points came from Brown Jr. on a fadeaway jumper along the baseline, yet this time from within the three-point arc. Points of all kinds came at a premium to begin the game, however. Both teams began the contest shooting 3-of-18 from the field. And although it was a collective brick-building effort in the first, the Knicks did the heavier lifting, going without a made field goal until the 3:07 mark of the period. While the Nets weren’t much better, Wolf and Dëmin did connect during this slick ATO…
Shots momentarily started falling for the champs as the first crossed over into the second where the Knicks enjoyed a 12-0 run which gave them the lead. While Brooklyn caught no such breaks, they did snag a handful of offensive boards to stick around. Johnson and Dain Dainja tapped the team into way to a few extra possessions and points. Dainja, a force off the bench for a second straight game, finished with six points, six boards, and a rejection.
Meanwhile, Egor Dëmin continued to laugh in the face of discouragement. After missing his first three shots of the game, the sophomore guard just kept on pulling deep into the second. His darts started hitting the board down the stretch of the period as well. His two makes from beyond the arc in the final two minutes of the frame were enough to give Brooklyn a 38-33 lead at half.
Dëmin led the Nets there with 15 points on 6-13 shooting and 2-8 from deep. Johnson followed with a 9/6/2 line along with two steals. Brown Jr. (4), Wolf (0), and Powell (1) collectively had just five points on 1-8 shooting, but did their best to make up for it on the other side of the ball.
In the third, Brooklyn continued to lean on their defense, forcing four turnovers in the subsequent period’s first five minutes. Johnson picked Dillon Jones’s pocket before going coast to coast for a jam roughly four minutes deep. Brown Jr. stole one before flying and flushing less than a minute later…
And while up there, the sixth overall pick ripped the saran off their rim. The Nets continued to push on the break after turnover and boards alike. After converting a number of transition points, they started to find their groove in the half court as well. In a flash, Brooklyn experienced a 15-0 jolt that gave them a 22-point lead. MBJ topped it off with one to help all the pre-draft Steph Curry comparison artists out…
While later in the game, that was only the start for Brown Jr. In the fourth, he turned a redemptive second half into a stellar outing and a comfortable win into a nasty blowout. Flashing his feel on the court and knack for finding space once again, he mixed in a flurry of threes put the game out of question. The rock fight we were watching an hour before suddenly felt like a foggy memory. MBJ had 16 points in just under 15 minutes of second half play before taking a seat with the Nets up 85-53 and a little under five minutes remaining. He finished with 20 points, three assists, and two steals while shooting 6-12 from the field and 3-6 from deep.
The Nets emptied their bench soon after that shuffle and splash before easily trotting to their third straight summer league victory, and their first part of this official tournament.
“I was just trying to find a rhythm, you know,” Brown Jr. said post game. “Coach just told me to stay aggressive, keep going and keep making plays, so that’s what I did.”
Julius Randle Speaks with Chris Haynes
Hours after the trade finally processed, Julius Randle made his first public appearance at this one. He spoke with Haynes during the second quarter.
“I’m great, man. You know, I’m excited,” he said. “Great opportunity ahead. Great organization. Made me really comfortable to start. So, you know, got a lot of young talent. Got some good vets. Excited to see what we can put together.”
Haynes asked specifically about Randle’s experience as a team leader and veteran locker room presence. In case you live under a rock, he was widely praised for his efforts while doing that now two stints ago with the Knicks.
“I mean, just ability to adjust and adapt, to be honest, ” he said. “I had one of the best best mentors there was that brought me in from day one in Kobe when I was a young player. I understood and saw how important that was for me at the start of my career, just seeing him and seeing him as an example for me as a player. So, I just try to pay the game back.”
On his role now with the Nets specifically, he restrained himself from making any bold predictions in terms of team success, but also acknowledged the opportunity to succeed.
“I mean, we just got to lean into each other, take it day by day, step by step, and just keep building,” he said. “I’m not gonna say what we’re gonna do or we’re not gonna do, but I know we’re gonna come in every day with the right mindset, right professionalism, and just get better every single day. I believe in a lot of these young guys, the talent that we have, and then some of the older guys, — MPJ, Keon, Terrence, and you got Day’Day [Day’Ron Sharpe]. You got a lot of guys, a lot of talent, so it’s really up to us, to build the chemistry and put it all together, and I feel like we will.”
He also spoke briefly on his relationship with Brown Jr.
“Yeah, I talked to him. I try to talk to him a lot. I joked with him that I don’t really watch a lot of college basketball, but the one game of his that I did watch was versus my Kentucky Wildcats, and he did us dirty. So, I gave him a little hell about that. But you know, it seems like he’s got a great hand on his shoulders, very poised, calm, and confident. I like what I’m seeing out here, as far as his pace of play. He plays at his own pace and can see the floor really well, so it’s gonna be up to us vets to pick him up to speed and really get him going. But he’s gonna be great. He’s gonna have a great career.”
Brown Jr. also shared postgame that the Nets had a team dinner last night with Randle and Michael Porter Jr.
“Got to talk to them for a little bit,” he said. “You know, just to be able to pick their brains means a lot.”
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Brooklyn is back in action tomorrow vs the Atlanta Hawks. The game will be on ESPN and is scheduled for tipoff at 8:00 p.m. EST. It will be the first game from the 28th pick, Joshua Jefferson, who couldn’t even train with Brooklyn until the big trade involving Julius Randle and Nic Claxton was finalized earlier in the day.
Since it’s the back end of a back-to-back, don’t expect the Nets’ two backcourt mates to play.
