NEW YORK -- The Brooklyn Nets (11-17) were feeling good coming off a tough road win at the Toronto Raptors on Thursday and they were hoping to carry that momentum into Saturday's game against the Utah Jazz (7-20). Brooklyn had some unfortunate news coming into the game as they were missing forward Dorian Finney-Smith due to a left calf contusion and it looks like they really missed him.
The Nets lost to the Jazz 105-94 in what amounted to be a performance that they would like to have back against a very beatable team. Cam Johnson had 18 points and five assists while Ben Simmons had 15 points and 10 assists for his first double-double of the season.
The biggest downfall for the Nets in this one was the turnover battle and not in the way that that phrase is usually meant given that the Jazz had trouble taking care of the basketball as well. Brooklyn could not capitalize on turnovers the way that Utah and that was what the game came down to.
Here are the Nets player grades following Thursday's loss to the Jazz:
The good part about this game from Simmons was how aggressive he was on the offensive end of the floor, especially when it came to driving to the rim. While Simmons was aggressive, he was not as good at finishing at the rim as he has been this season and part of that could be him being asked to shoulder more of the offensive load. Simmons did a good job of having an all-around game, but he also turned the ball over too many times as the team's point guard.
Johnson continues to start for the Nets, but it seems that he hasn't been able to find his shooting touch no matter how many opportunities he gets to shoot. To Johnson's credit, he did a good job of being aggressive on the offensive end of the floor, but he wasn't able to get anything to drop, something that is disappointing when considering how dynamic he can be at times with his athleticism.
Johnson had a quiet offensive game in this one after coming off an amazing outing on Thursday at the Raptors. Utah did a good job of doubling Johnson whenever he got the ball in his hands, especially with him being the primary scoring option for the Nets this entire season. Johnson noticeably had issues dealing with double-teams as he had trouble making routing plays out of the traps and that stymied Brooklyn's offense throughout this game.
Clowney drew the start in this one due to Dorian Finney-Smith not being able to play due to a left calf contusion, but it's safe to say that he's had better outings. Clowney had some solid moments on the offensive end of the floor, especially with his two putbacks in the third quarter, but he wasn't able to get himself going outside of that. Clowney did a good job of rebounding and seeing him being aggressive on the glass was the most encouraging part of his game against the Jazz.
Claxton had a solid performance against Utah despite having to go against Walker Kessler and Lauri Markkanen for the majority of the game. Claxton did a good job of finishing at the rim whenever the ball came his way, but he also had some issues handling the basketball when it came time for him to make plays in the pick-and-roll. He had one of his best defensive games of the season as he was everywhere on the court, including rejecting/deterring at the rim.
Wilson had a decent outing for the Nets as he had some success driving to the rim whenever he wasn't able to get an open shot at the three-point line. Wilson's offensive output comes and goes, usually depending on how well he's shooting the three. Wilson did a great job of rebounding the basketball and had some nice defensive moments, but he will be hoping for better days when it comes to shooting the ball.
Sharpe had a solid performance for the Nets mostly due to his rebounding ability and activity on the glass throughout the game. For Sharpe to have the kind of impact he had on the boards while dealing with Walker Kessler and Drew Eubanks was impressive, but he also had some bad possessions of trying to handle the ball in traffic before ultimately fumbling it. Aside from that, Sharpe stayed within his role and gave some solid minutes off the bench.
Milton played well for the Nets off the bench, usually as the backup point guard to Ben Simmons these days now that Dennis Schroder is out of town. Milton wasn't able to get much going from behind the three-point line, but he was able to get whatever he wanted in the mid-range and that allowed him to have some offensive impact on an otherwise limited night for his teammates.
Martin had a decent performance overall, but he most likely would have to a better shooting game as he couldn't find his touch from three-point land. To his credit, Martin was aggressive in driving to the rim and he actually created some scoring opportunities off of those looks, but he wasn't able to get himself going despite having some good looks throughout the contest.