The Brooklyn Nets emerged victorious by a final score of 92-85 on Tuesday over their crosstown rival, the New York Knicks. For the Nets it was more of the same with the regular contributors shining and the same struggles for a promising youngster. Let’s dive in and see what we learned from the third game of the Summer League slate.
Jalen Wilson shows why he’ll get major rotation minutes with the Nets
Last year’s second-round pick is showing that he’s going to be a big part of the rotation this upcoming season. After erupting for 25 points in the opener against the Indiana Pacers, he put up a more modest performance in game two against the LA Clippers finishing with 12 points in that contest. Against the Knicks, he exploded again for a game-high 27 points.
Through three games, Wilson is averaging 21.3 points per game and shooting a spectacular 45.8% from beyond the arc. Standing 6-8 and weighing in at 225 pounds, Wilson isn’t the most athletic player, but he’s able to competently defend 3’s and 4’s and hit catch-and-shoot threes while attacking close-outs with relative efficiency. His role and ceiling is likely that of a 3-and-D role player and his game is reminiscent of teammate Dorian Finney-Smith who’s been a hot topic in trade rumors this offseason.
Wilson will need to show the same shooting stroke in an expanded role during the regular season. While he’s not a star, he seems to have the ceiling of a solid role player as the ever-so-valuable 3-and-D archetype, which is a huge boon considering he was the 51st overall pick in 2023.
Expect Dariq Whitehead to start off in the G-League
Patience is paramount with Dariq Whitehead who’s had a dreadful run this summer. He turned in his worst performance of the three against the Knicks going 0 for 10 from the field including a brutal 0 for 8 from three in just 15 minutes, finishing with just 1 point.
It was another extremely poor performance from Whitehead, who in this game rarely attacked the basket. Numerous lower leg injuries have hampered the once-heralded high school recruit and it’s clear that he still doesn’t trust his body to not betray him.
Going into Summer League, the great hope was to see Whitehead recapture the explosive athleticism that made him a consensus top-three overall recruit. Short of that, it would have been nice to see him adapt his game to more limited athleticism, which would mean more stationary shooting – a strong point for him during his lone season at Duke.
At this point, it’s hard to tell if his signature explosion is gone, or if he understandably needs time to regain the trust in his body to perform at the level that once gave him so much potential. What is certain is he needs to be brought along slowly, and at his very young age, the Nets have all the time in the world to wait and see if the Whitehead gamble pays off.
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A few quick notes from the Nets’ third Summer League game
Noah Clowney turned in another solid performance, with 12 points and 4 rebounds in 26 minutes. His shooting has still been a bit streaky, and his outing against the Knicks was his worst of the summer, but he’s done enough in a Summer League environment that’s traditionally harder for bigs to generate excitement going into the season.
A star through the first two games, Keon Johnson had a quieter night versus the Knicks. His outside shot wasn’t falling, going 1-6 from three. Overall, he was less aggressive at getting to the basket but still put up 10 points while producing 5 assists. It wasn’t a bad performance by any means, just not up to his stellar standards from the first two games as he continues his bid to earn a contract and roster spot on the regular season roster.
Next up for the Brooklyn Nets
- Thursday 7/18 against Orlando @ 8PM
