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Even if all eyes are on Brooklyn — Nolan Traore is making strides with Long Island, so many in fact that the 19-year-old Frenchmen’s next home game will be at Barclays Center, not Nassau Coliseum. After a strong two weeks with the Nets G League affiliate, Traore was called up Thursday just as the Nets head to Dallas for Friday’s game vs. the Mavericks.
The 19th pick and youngest of the Flatbush 5 — who many fans had dismissed after lackluster performances in preseason , had attacked his time in the G League with gusto…
The big change shouldn’t have been that surprising. Traore after all is the sixth youngest player in the NBA and as our Tyler Carmona wrote last week, Traore has a history of slow starts.
Wednesday, on the back of a typical Traore game, the Long Island Nets had defeated the Westchester Knicks, 115-95, at the Westchester County Center. While this marked a regular Tip-Off Tournament game, Brooklyn head coach Jordi Fernandez was on hand to undoubtedly keep an eye on the rookies with Traore prominent among them. (he didn’t speak to media post-game.).
Traore continued to shoot the ball very well in the Battle of the ’Burbs, finishing with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including both attempts from deep. He has been taking a lot of smart shots, and one of the highlights of the nights was a connection with Drake Powell. Powell will also be traveling to Dallas, having been called up as well.
This was alson arguably Traore’s best game protecting the ball. For the first time in his G League career, Traore finished the game with zero turnovers. Things have very much been trending in the right direction for Traore in this aspect, with the best showing yet taking place on Wednesday.
The game against the lowly Knicks, the G League’s worst team, was a blowout early…
Indeed, the Nets held a double-digit lead throughout the second quarter with Westchester getting no closer than 14.
Powell played his second game with Long Island in this one. Coming off an eight-point performance on Tuesday, would Powell play more of a bigger factor on the stat sheet? Unfortunately, no. Powell connected on two of his seven shots, struggling mightily from deep, only hitting one of his six shot attempts. In total, Powell finished with six points.
Powell also finished with three rebounds and two assists. However, what Powell lacked in shooting the ball, he made up for in being the best ballhawk of the game. Powell finished with a game-best five steals. This led to a lot of unanswered points for Long Island and played a big part in getting them their double-digit lead, which they maintained the whole second half.
The third and final rookie on Long Island right now is Ben Saraf, who will remain in Long Island. Saraf made his return to Long Island on Tuesday, where he struggled to shoot the ball. Unfortunately, things wouldn’t fare much better for Saraf in this one. Saraf connected on just two of his seven shots, but if there’s any silver lining, it’s that Saraf has yet to miss from deep in his first two games back with Long Island. He went two-for-two on Tuesday and followed that up by connecting on his only attempt from deep on Wednesday.
In total, Saraf picked up five points. He also hauled in six rebounds while tallying five assists. Saraf’s big downside to his game on Wednesday was, unfortunately, in the turnover department. He finished second on the team in turnovers with four. However, these are all somewhat expected growing pains. The potential is most certainly still there for Saraf and Powell, for that matter.
Brooklyn Nets two-way player, Tyson Etienne, also remains in Uniondale. Etienne finished with 13 points, connecting on four of his nine attempts from deep. He went three-for-six from deep, having a much better shooting performance on Wednesday than he did the day before. He also had one assist and one steal to his credit. EJ Liddell was inactive dealing with a left ankle sprain. This injury comes at an inopportune time, as he’s been playing lights out with Long Island.
Tre Scott, the 6’8” Long Island’s 28-year-old big, led the team in scoring with 20 points. Scott finished the game connecting on eight of his 16 shot attempts, but only connecting on two of his seven shots from deep. He also had five rebounds, five assists, and two steals. However, Scott’s downfall in this one came in the turnover department as he tallied five. With all the attention on the rookies and the two-ways, Scott is still a name to keep an eye on.
Nate Williams the 6’6” wing, is similarly situated. another player who’s a bit older at 26. He hit seven of his 15 shots, including shooting 50% from deep. He also had five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block. Yuri Collins had 13 points of his own, as well as six rebounds and six assists. He shot almost lights out, connecting on six of his seven attempts.
Also, 24-year-old David Muoka is getting a second chance at minutes. The 6’11” Hong Kongese center played arguably his best game in a Nets uniform, tallying 10 points, three rebounds, and three blocks.
Next Up
The Long Island Nets (6-7) return to the court on Friday in Westchester, as they once again battle the Westchester Knicks, as their Tip-Off Tournament comes to an end. The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. EST and can be watched on the Gotham Sports app, as well as the NBA G League website.
- Boxscore: Long Island Nets at Westchester Knicks: Box Score – NBA.com
- Nolan Traore’s play in G League impressing Nets’ Jordi Fernandez – Dan Martin – New York Post
- Nets recall rookie Nolan Traore as path to point guard minutes opens ($) – C.J. Holmes – New York Daily News
- Two clubs, one organization: Inside the Nets’ developmental pipeline with Long Island ($) – C.J. Holmes – New York Daily News
- Nets recall rookie Nolan Traore after performing well in G League – Sharif Phillips-Keaton – USA TODAY
- Nets rookie in line for first extended NBA audition after G League breakout – Erik Slater – Clutch Points
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