The Brooklyn Nets (12-34) have been having a rough January that is looking more like what the team was putting forth on the floor prior to December. Brooklyn still has a ways to go on its road trip with the Denver Nuggets (32-16) for them to face and while the Nets made another impressive comeback, it seems that there wasn’t enough time to pull off the upset in Denver.
The Nets lost at the Nuggets on Thursday 107-103 despite coming back from a 19-point deficit to make the game interesting in the second half. Forward Michael Porter Jr. had one of his best games of the season against his former team as he dropped 38 points and 10 rebounds while veteran Terance Mann had 12 points and six rebounds in Brooklyn’s 14th loss of the month.
Advertisement
The Nets were able to get plenty of offense from Porter, but the bigger issue was the defensive end of the floor as they allowed the Nuggets to shoot 48.0% from the field, led by Jamal Murray and his 27 points. Brooklyn has two games left on its road trip and at the moment, the losses are piling up. Here are the Nets player grades following Thursday’s loss at the Nuggets:
Nolan Traore: B
Traore had some encouraging moments in this one, especially on the offensive end of the floor as he’s starting to trust himself with the ball in his hands. Traore still has to refine his game to figure out what the most efficient parts of his game are, but until then, it will be interesting to see how he develops within the rotation against veteran-laden teams like the Nuggets.
Terance Mann: B-
Mann struggled shooting the ball overall against the Nuggets despite shooting the ball well from three-point land, showing how much Denver’s frontline bothered him at the rim. Mann also did a great job of rebounding the basketball and making the little plays that head coach Jordi Fernandez wants to see from him, but he is normally better when it comes to taking care of the ball.
Advertisement
Michael Porter Jr.: A+
Porter returned to Denver for the first time since the team traded him to the Nets this summer and he didn’t let the crowd or his former team forget what he used to do during his Nuggets days. Porter, who could very well make the All-Star team for the first time in his career, put on display what he has been doing for Brooklyn all season, no matter the defensive pressure.
Danny Wolf: B
With Noah Clowney missing this game as he continues to deal with a back injury, Wolf got the opportunity to be in the starting lineup and he had a solid performance during his time on the floor. Wolf was aggressive with the ball in his hands and as a result, he was able to take advantage of some openings that the defense gave him while worrying about defending Porter.
Advertisement
Nic Claxton: A
Claxton did a good job of scoring the ball near the rim despite not getting many chances to score against a Nuggets team that was undersized without Nikola Jokic available to man the middle. With Porter doing the majority of the scoring, Claxton settled into his role of rebounding, protecting the rim, and making some nice passes to his teammates within the flow of the offense.
Jalen Wilson: C+
With all of the players out of the rotation for the Nets in this game, Wilson saw some extended playing time and he put that time to good use, especially on the offensive end of the floor. While Wilson’s offensive impact ebbs and flows depending on if he’s hitting his shots, this was one of those games where he remain composed and drained most of the shots that came his way.
Advertisement
Day’Ron Sharpe: B-
With Denver moving Jonas Valanciunas to the starting center in place of Jokic, that meant that Sharpe would be spending the majority of his time going against Zeke Nnaji, a matchup Sharpe won for the most part. Sharpe did a good job of being efficient in the paint while bringing his patented effort on both glasses to establish his presence throughout the game.
Tyrese Martin: C-
Similar to Wilson, Martin saw some extended playing time due to the amount of injuries on the roster, but Martin’s shooting struggles continued in this one despite getting some good looks. Martin has had some games this season where he couldn’t miss even if he was being pressured, but he also has games like this where his impact depends heavily on his ability to make shots and set up his teammates. He did a great job rebounding, however.
Advertisement
Drake Powell: C+
Powell was taken out of the starting lineup for this game as it seemed that Fernandez wanted a point guard in the lineup, especially with Jamal Murray waiting on the other side. Despite the fact that Powell came off the bench, he eventually found his groove on the offensive end of the floor. Powell is at the point of the season where he has to put both sides of the court together, but Fernandez is being patient with the rookie.
Ben Saraf: C-
Saraf remained in his role as the backup point guard in some capacity, but he essentially split the point guard minutes with fellow rookie Nolan Traore as he seemed to struggle with his offensive game. Saraf couldn’t get anything to drop throughout his time on the court, but he did a good job of taking care of the basketball and playing solid defense on the other end.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets’ Michael Porter Jr. drops 38 points in 107-103 loss at Nuggets