Brooklyn Nets lose third straight to open Summer League, 97-93, vs. New York Knicks

Without Egor Dëmin and Danny Wolf in the lineup, the Drew Timme-led Brooklyn Nets suffered yet another loss.

The Brooklyn Nets were bitten by a funky Las Vegas Summer League schedule, playing one game over the first four days but concluding with a back-to-back.

That back-to-back began on Tuesday evening, a date with the New York Knicks. As a result, Egor Dëmin and Danny Wolf were resting — with Tosan Evbuomwan and Tyson Etienne out with minor ailments — giving fellow first-round picks Nolan Traoré and Ben Saraf a chance to shine, as well as UDFAs Grant Nelson and TJ Bamba.

Saraf had a strong start, scoring seven quick points and giving Nets fans the same sell his most ardent believers did before the draft. He is 6’7” with a real handle, and though the outside jumper is a major question, he can eat up space anyway…

He scored seven points in the first quarter, but finished with just ___. Mixed in with some impressive drives and a nice pass here and there…

…were a ton of missed shots, as the #26 overall pick shot just 4-of-11 from the field, turning down some open ones as well. Ben Saraf, nor any rookie, can change the trajectory of their career in Summer League, but his strengths and weaknesses seem very clear after his third and possibly final appearance in Vegas.

While Saraf played 30 minutes, Traoré played just 19. It mostly went like this…

As in his first two Summer League games, Traoré is blindingly quick with a downhill handle, but where he’ll get his points from remains a mystery. He scored two points on 1-of-8 shooting, missing both of his 3-pointers and occasionally going too fast for his own good. It’ll be a while before the #19 overall pick has the strength and craft to consistently finish at the rim.

The guard who stood out on Tuesday was New York’s Tyler Kolek; the 2024 second-rounder hit five 3-pointers in the first half and controlled every positive possession for the Knicks, who also entered 0-2. Brooklyn’s offense could have kept up had they not shot 20% from deep, but alas, they lost steam early in the second half and never recovered.

Once again, they featured a whole hell of a lot of Drew Timme, who led the team with 24 points on 8-of-19 shooting…

Some of his buckets were delectable, but at some point, watching the soon-to-be 25-year-old take over most every possession in the second half with Traoré sitting on the bench and Grant Nelson sitting in the corner got old.

Nelson, for his part, passed up too many 3-point opportunities and turned it over four times, but he shot 3-of-4 with three steals. In a word: fine. The most impressive Net was Caleb Daniels, the 26-year-old former Villanova guard who put up 16/9/2 in 27 minutes. At 26, he probably should be one of the best players on the floor in Summer League, but he was. Minor applause.

Alas, the Summer League Nets, missing four of their guys, dropped their third straight game to open play. They kinda just ran out of talent, not effort, with MarJon Beauchamp matching Kolek’s 25 points and the rest of the team making just enough 3-pointers.

Brooklyn has just one game left in Sin City before the true quiet of the offseason arrives. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

Final Score: New York Knicks 97, Brooklyn Nets 93

Egor, you may now see the Shot Doctor

Perhaps the most entertaining part of Tuesday’s broadcast was an in-depth breakdown of Egor Dëmin’s oft-discussed outside shot. Former NCAA coach and certified basketball lover Tom Crean broke down Dëmin’s jumper, and why he expects the Russian teenager to blossom into a prolific shooter…

Injury Report

As expected, both Ben Saraf and Nolan Traoré will miss Wednesday’s game against the Orlando Magic. However, Brian Lewis of the New York Post reported that Traoré does have a minor injury…

Next Up

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

With Egor Dëmin and Danny Wolf likely back in the fold, the Brooklyn Nets wrap up their Las Vegas Summer League experience against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday evening. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

• Boxscore: New York Knicks 97, Brooklyn Nets 93 – NBA
• Game Highlights: New York 97, Brooklyn Nets 93 (Video) – NBA