The Brooklyn Nets (9-13) had hopes of making up for their disappointing weekend of losses to the Orlando Magic by going into Chicago on the second night of a back-to-back and beating the Chicago Bulls. However, Brooklyn came into the matchup mort shorthanded than usual and despite getting center Day'Ron Sharpe back into the lineup, it wasn't enough for the Nets to win.

The Nets lost at the Bulls 128-102 and that was despite a first half in which Brooklyn competed well against Chicago to the tune of trailing just 56-50 heading into halftime. However, the second half is where things got away for Brooklyn as Chicago outscored them 72-52, including the Bulls outscoring the Nets in fastbreak points 23-10.

Dariq Whitehead got his first test of extended NBA minutes and he performed well to the tune of 18 points scored while shooting 6-of-10 from three-point range. Dennis Schroder also had 16 points and 10 assists in the loss, but he struggled shooting the ball from deep.

Here are the Nets player grades following Monday's loss at the Bulls:

Schroder did a good job of scoring the basketball for the Nets, but he also had his struggles shooting the ball from long-range, allowing the Bulls to play him in a predictable manner by limiting his looks inside the mid-range. Schroder got to the rim repeatedly and that is probably his most important offensive trait for a Brooklyn team that struggled to score in this one due to the amount of injuries. Schroder also did a great job of passing the ball, but he also wasn't able to do much to defend the guard combination of Josh Giddey and Ayo Dosunmu.

Johnson got his first start for the Nets due to the amount of injuries and while he's used to his role coming off the bench, he still did his best to make the most of his minutes. Johnson struggled with his shot overall, but he had some moments where he continued to be aggressive despite some plays where he could have been more intentional about getting to the basket. Johnson did a good job of rebounding and passing the ball, but his impact on defense was not as strong as it usually is.

Martin earned his second start of the season, but he has yet to recapture the form that he had at the Phoenix Suns last week, including shooting from three-point range. Martin had some good plays in this one, but he had some trouble with sticking to his man along with Brooklyn's entire poor defensive outing at the Bulls. Martin had his moment at Phoenix, but once the team gets healthier, he could see himself not getting many minutes.

Wilson had another poor outing as he hasn't been able to get anything going on either end of the floor either due to foul trouble or just ineffective three-point shooting. The latter happened for Wilson as he wasn't able to get anything to drop against a Bulls team that had some openings over the course of this game. Wilson did a good job of rebounding the basketball, but that is where the positives end for him.

Claxton had a decent performance Monday at the Bulls, but one would have expected him to have more of an impact going against a Chicago team with Nikola Vucevic and not much else behind him at center. Granted, Claxton is not involved much within the offense, but he did have some shots that he would like to have back, especially with Vucevic providing little to no resistance in the paint. Claxton did a good job of rebounding, but he has had better days when it comes to protecting the rim.

Watford had another solid game for the Nets as he continues to work his way back from the left hamstring strain that cost him most of the season. With the way that he's been playing lately, Watford appears to be fully-recovered from the injury and has looked noticeably more explosive getting to the rim against a variety of defenders. Watford did a good job of rebounding and while he's not considered a plus defender at this point of his career, he had some momentary lapses in this one on that end of the floor.

Whitehead played extended minutes for the first time this season and he had made the most of the playing time as he seemingly couldn't miss from three-point land. Whitehead remained mostly on the perimeter as he attempted just one shot from inside the three-point line, but that made sense given the success he was having from deep. Whitehead also made some good plays on the defensive end as he looked to have most of his mobility back from his younger days.

Sharpe made his season debut on Monday after missing the entire season to this point due to a left hamstring strain. While Sharpe was on a minutes restriction, he played 16 minutes and looked like he was ready to play after such a long absence. There were some routine plays that he struggled with, such as handoffs and typical plays of catching the ball near the rim, but for the most part, Sharpe looked more like himself and he didn't appear to suffer a setback.

Milton had some great moments in this game, but he also had some issues with handling the ball, especially in the second half when it seemed that he wasn't able to build a rhythm of making the right decision when he was able to get into the paint. Milton had his own struggles shooting the ball after a hot start, but he still had some good plays for a Nets team missing many of its playmakers.