The Long Island Nets are looking to revamp after going 2-14, the G League’s worst record. They lost Monday but it was a close.
On Monday, the Long Island Nets kicked off their regular season against the Delaware Blue Coats in Delaware. This couldn’t have come at a better time for Long Island as their record reset Monday night, following their dismal performance in the league’s Tip-Off Tournament, winning just two out of its 16 games.
But even with a revamped roster, Long Island would fall to Delaware in a close game to the very end, 122-114. Despite coming up just short, Long Island started their regular season playing well. They had a new look, and most importantly a new dominant big man in 6’10” Drew Timme, a 6’10” three-time All-American from Gonzaga:.
Timme came over to the Long Island Nets earlier in day, as a part of the three-team trade which saw Amari Bailey sent to the Iowa Wolves. In his debut with Long Island, Timme (pronounced “Timmy”) finished the game leading the team in both points and rebounds, recording 23 and 15. Many Long Island fans were curious how they would fare without Patrick Gardner, and tonight looked promising with Timme in his spot.
Timme hit eight out of his 16 shot attempts, hitting four out of seven from the line as well. The acquisition of Timme not only helped Long Island with scoring but also proved to be very beneficial in other aspects of the game. He finished with four assists and was a board machine, picking up six offensive rebounds. The lack of rebounding has been an aspect of the game that Long Island has struggled with the entire season.
From one new acquisition to another, the 6’8” Tre Scott, acquired in the Gardner trade, hit five of his 10 shot attempts for 12 points, while picking up four rebounds and three assists. Scott, 28, is a G League veteran.
Killian Hayes and Jaylen Martin also played well, picking up 20 points and 19 points respectively. Unfortunately, there were quite a few negatives in today’s game. Kendall Brown only picked up seven points, hitting just three of his seven shot attempts, and in worse news, Dariq Whitehead may be injured again.
Whitehead played a little more than 12 minutes in the first half before taking a hard foul and falling to the ground. He seemingly played through it for a little while, but he was seen walking to the locker room with the rest of the team at halftime with ice on his ribs, not returning.
Before his injury, Whitehead picked up eight points and looked incredibly sharp shooting the ball. He knocked down four out of his five field goals, including hitting tough lay-ups, and even picking up an offensive rebound..
Terry Roberts also saw his first time back on the court tonight for Long Island since being shot in the chest back in February. He finished with seven points, hitting two of his five field goals, including one from deep, and a free throw. Certainly a decent showing and one he can build upon going forward.
In the first quarter of the game Long Island started out hot, they went on a quick 6-0 run to start things, before Delaware battled back. Tyson Etienne picked up 11 quick points in the first quarter alone. Come the second quarter, Delaware took the lead heading into half as Killian Hayes, began to heat up, picking up 11 points of his own in the second.
The third quarter saw more of the same as Long Island and Delaware continued their neck-and-neck battle. Unfortunately for Long Island, they didn’t have an answer for Justin Edwards as he came in and dropped 12 points on Long Island in the third. Ultimately, Delaware would pull away in the fourth and secure the game.
Next Up
Long Island is now 0-1 in the regular season. They look to get their first win on Friday against the Grand Rapids Gold. It’s uncertain if the two young players acquired in the Dennis Schroder and the Dorian Finney-Smith deals, point guard Reece Beekman and Maxwell Lewis, respectively, will play. The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. ET and can be viewed on the NBA G-League and Long Island Nets’ websites.