 | Luis Scola, PF 21 MIN | 3-7 FG | 0-2 3FG | 0-0 FT | 7 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 6 PTS | +13 +/- Pretty quiet night. Felt like he didn’t play at all in the second half, which makes sense given that Bargnani (lol) was really the only four he can match with. |  |
 | James Johnson, PF 26 MIN | 3-6 FG | 0-1 3FG | 2-2 FT | 5 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 2 TO | 8 PTS | +19 +/- Was solid, if unspectacular. Only counted one real mistake in help defense, the usual Casey issue with Johnson, and he stayed within himself on offense. Erased a struggling Joe Johnson. |  |
 | Jonas Valanciunas, C 30 MIN | 8-13 FG | 0-0 3FG | 6-6 FT | 11 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 2 BLK | 3 TO | 22 PTS | +20 +/- This may have been the best I’ve ever seen him look. He flashed his hands on the dive or on the catch, he used his pump-fake, he scored on the block, and he defended a very talented post-scorer in Brook Lopez pretty well. This was really encouraging. |  |
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 | Kyle Lowry, PG 36 MIN | 7-14 FG | 0-7 3FG | 3-3 FT | 8 REB | 6 AST | 5 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 17 PTS | +1 +/- His outside shot wasn’t falling by any means but good shammgod, did he ever set the tone. He was everywhere in passing lanes, hammered the glass, got to the rim, and used his dribble-penetration to create defensive breakdowns. This was an example of how to have an impact when your shot isn’t there, even if the +/- suggests he was just OK. | |
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 | DeMar DeRozan, SG 36 MIN | 5-13 FG | 1-2 3FG | 4-5 FT | 4 REB | 5 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 15 PTS | +21 +/- A bit of a slow night scoring, mostly by choice, it seemed. DeRozan dumped a fair number of his drives off, and while he was a bit turnover prone, facilitator DeRozan is fun to watch. |  |
 | Patrick Patterson, PF 26 MIN | 3-8 FG | 2-6 3FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 8 PTS | +5 +/- Seems to strongly prefer the second half on offense, just as your confidence in him begins to wane. Thought he had a great defensive showing, as has been the case more often than not this season. |  |
 | Terrence Ross, SF 19 MIN | 1-5 FG | 1-3 3FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 3 PTS | -8 +/- Not the greatest of nights when you tip in a teammate’s would-be and-1 layup. Pretty quiet otherwise. |  |
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 | Bruno Caboclo, SF 1 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | -1 +/- He had a rebound, a steal, and a turnover in like five seconds. The Full Bruno. Incomplete on account of hardly any playing time. |  |
 | Lucas Nogueira, C 2 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | +1 +/- Set an OK screen, helped in the lane on a drive and then got lost on the ensuing scramble, freeing Reed for a dunk. Incomplete on account of hardly any playing time. | |
 | Bismack Biyombo, C 17 MIN | 0-3 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | -4 +/- For anyone who thought Biyombo should have started because of the matchup, he countered on my behalf. He wasn’t bad, necessarily, but he makes life tough for the second unit offense. And what, exactly, are you supposed to do about this? | |
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 | Delon Wright, PG 2 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | +1 +/- A rebound and an assist in two minutes, without any real mistakes. Incomplete on account of hardly any playing time. | |
 | Cory Joseph, PG 23 MIN | 4-9 FG | 0-1 3FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 10 PTS | +18 +/- Nice to see Joseph bounce back some of late, although he probably wants that one Sloan blow-by back. They need him to be steady so Lowry’s playing time can come down some. |  |
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 | Norman Powell, SG 1 MIN | 1-2 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | -1 +/- Attacked a closeout from the corner but couldn’t finish. Took a step-in long-two that’s a bad shot but also one he needs to be able to hit, and he hit it. Should see some more run. Incomplete on account of hardly any playing time. | |
 | Dwane Casey I just don’t see the reason for Lowry and DeRozan playing 36 minutes each in a 17-point win against what might be the league’s worst team right now. Otherwise, things were fine, but it would have been a good occasion to get a longer look at the youngsters. | |
Five Things We Saw
- In case you missed it, DeMarre Carroll is expected out 6-8 weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
- It’s the Nets, but holding anyone to 74 points is impressive. Brooklyn shot 40 percent from the floor, barely got to the line, committed a ton of turnovers, and were kept off the offensive glass. This was a nice bounce-back defensively, if an expected one.
- The bench is going to need to turn in better performances moving forward. It wasn’t awful thanks to Joseph, but Casey obviously didn’t have the requisite faith in Ross and Biyombo and the deep reserves to close things out. They have to play better or Casey has to give them some leash or both. Related: I’d really like to see a bit more Powell.
- Andrea Bargnani was 1/2 for 3 points and four laughs in six minutes, and the Nets were minus-6 in that time. A reminder, the Raptors get a bonus first-round pick this year because of Bargs.
- This was one of the ugliest games, in aesthetic terms, I can remember watching. In that sense, it was pretty fun.
