The Brooklyn Nets (14-27) came into Wednesday's game at the Los Angeles Clippers (22-17) hoping to give some of the younger players more time on the floor as some of the veterans were unable to go. While Brooklyn got what it wanted in terms of more playing time for the younger players, it resulted in one of the worst losses in franchise history, let alone NBA history.
After a first quarter that was competitive with both teams tied 21-21, the Nets lost to the Clippers 126-67. Jalen Wilson had one of his best games in quite some time as he put up 16 points and three rebounds while Day'Ron Sharpe took advantage of the extra playing time to the tune of 12 points and 14 rebounds off the bench.
If one would have saw the entire first quarter, that same person would have thought that the Nets would have been a lot closer than they ended up being by the time the game was over. Alas, that did not happen and with that being said, here are the Nets player grades following Wednesday's embarrassing performance:
Martin started off this game strong as he had some nice moments shooting the ball, getting to the rim, and setting up his teammates for easy baskets. Unfortunately, once the second quarter began, Martin and the rest of the team lost whatever they had in the first quarter and once the game got out of hand, Martin couldn't regain his rhythm from the opening period.
Johnson was another one of the players that had a tough time shooting the ball as he couldn't get anything to fall from three-point land. Johnson was able to get to the basket repeatedly, but struggled finishing whether the big man was waiting for him at the rim or not. Johnson wasn't able to create anything for anybody else and he had some turnovers that were discouraging to see.
Williams did a solid job of shooting the ball, but he didn't make much of an impact on the offensive end due to the lack of shot attempts that he had during the contest. Williams had been one of the best players for the Nets over the past few weeks as he saw more playing time due to injuries, but this game against the Clippers was the team's worst of the season and has to make the tanking crowd happy.
Clowney did not shoot the ball in this one as he couldn't get anything to fall from three-point range and wasn't able to make much of an impact outside of his three-point shot. Clowney has been the starting power forward for the Nets ever since Dorian Finney-Smith was traded away and this has probably been his worst game of the season that he's finished, like most of his teammates.
Claxton had his worst game of the season as he had trouble finishing at the basket, including a sequence in which he lost all concentration and ended with zero points. Claxton did have good activity on the glass in the first half, but his intensity on the glass waned as Brooklyn's deficit grew.
Unlike the rest of his teammates, Wilson had one of his best games in quite some time as he did a good job of finishing at the basket and filling the lanes in transition. Wilson wasn't able to get his three-point shot to drop with consistency, but that didn't stop him from being aggressive in his attempts to get to the rim and make some things happen.
Evbuomwan probably had his worst game as a Net since signing with the team as he couldn't make any of his patented mid-range game show up against the Clippers. He seemed to thrive on being able to get into the lane and rise over his defender, but with the kind of long, athletic players on Los Angeles' roster, Evbuomwan couldn't find any openings and it led to him taking shots that he wasn't comfortable with.
Sharpe saw more playing time in this one than he did in previous games since the game got out of hand pretty early and the Nets looked like they want to rest players like Nic Claxton. As a result, Sharpe was able to line up against players like Mo Bamba and Kai Jones and he appeared to get whatever shot he wanted, but still had trouble finishing at the basket. Sharpe did a great job rebounding and he made some nice plays on defense in what was extended garbage time.
Beekman saw a solid amount of playing time in this one due to the amount of players missing for Brooklyn and he had some standout moments on the defensive end. Beekman had a tough time shooting the ball, but he did some things with the ball in his hands as he was able to hit his teammates with precision passes when they were able to find cracks in the defense.