It’s Game One of Summer League, a long way from preseason, then regular season but it’s also been a long time since Brooklyn Nets fans saw their team in action back in April and so the interest level was high on July 4th. There was some disappointments like the Nets lost , 76-76, to the Sacramento Kings, and Mikel Brown Jr., the team’s highest draft pick in 16 years, didn’t play … so the anticipated faceoff between him and Darius Acuff didn’t materialize.
…And according to Summer League coach, Dutch Gaitley, Brown won’t be playing in Game 2 either on Sunday afternoon vs. the Bucks. His NBA Summer League debut will have to wait till Monday night when the Nets meet up with the Golden State Warriors. As Jordi Fernandez
Still, there were positives among those who did play, led by second year rookie, Egor Demin who scored 23 points, grabbed seven boards and handed out one assist in 27 minutes. The big improvement in the 6’9.5” guard’s game was his willingness to touch the paint … and his desire to show leadership, as he told NetsDaily…
Demin was part of the Nets big first quarter push which saw them amount a 21-1o lead while holding Acuff to 1-of-9 shooting in his Summer League debut. Then in the second quarter, they let the Kings reel off 18 straight, mostly with the second unit on the court, at Golden1 Center. Both Demin and Nets coach Dutch Gaitley lamented the drop-off…
Demin admitted the Kings came with more physicality, an issue that has plagued the Nets whether in Summer League or regular season…
After tying the game at 37-37 at the game’s midway point, the two teams battled back and forth until the end with Acuff finally showing what got him taken at No. 7 in the June draft, his ability to simply take over a game…
In the end, it was Acuff who fed Nique Clifford for what turned out to be the dagger with five seconds left…
Acuff finished with 29 points along with four assists and a rebound. After his slow start shooting, Acuff ultimately finished 9-of-29, but hit only one 3-pointer in nine attempts. Gaitley told ND post-game that he wished his team could have done a “better job” on the Arkansas product…
Besides Brown Jr., the Nets were also without Danny Wolf, who was kept on the bench by a sore back. His status remains uncertain for the rest of the California Classic, Gaitley said.
Two other members of last year’s draft class — Drake Powell and Ben Saraf — started for Brooklyn and while Saraf had some moments as he finished with 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting, none from beyond the arc. to go along with six boards. His defense on Acuff early in the game was a big positive, but Powell did not play well, missing all nine of his shots, including five threes. He did register six rebounds.
Nets returning two-way Chaney Johnson had 10 boards and 10 boards on the game and played a strong defensive game. Johnson, who turned 24 last week, started for Brooklyn.
Finally, the Nets second rounder in the 2026 Draft, 6’9” SF Tyler Bilodeau, had a solid game for his first pro encounter with nine points in 25 minutes. The UCLA product finished 4-of-6 overall, including 1-of-3 from deep while grabbing six boards. He too is Long Island bound, having agreed, like Johnson, to a two-way deal last week.
As noted, the Nets other first rounder, Joshua Jefferson out of Iowa State can’t play until Monday when the three-team trade that will bring his rights and Julius Randle to the Nets is finalized. Also, both Nolan Traore and Grant Nelson, rookies on last year’s team, won’t play in either.
Next Up
The Nets play the Bucks at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday in Game Two of the California Classic. The game will be carried on the same outlets as Game 1, including Prime, NBA TV and League Pass, ESPN+ and Gotham Sports.
Gaitley told ND he fully expects Brown Jr. to play vs. the Warriors Monday after sitting out the first two games of the back-to-back-to-back. Wolf is less certain, said the Brooklyn Nets assistant…
After the weekend, the Nets will fly to Las Vegas for the NBA Summer League which begins July 9. The Nets will play their first game the next day in Vegas vs. the New York Knicks entry, the first of a guaranteed five games.
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