Overreactions to The Brooklyn Nets First Las Vegas Summer League Game

Possibly the most anticipated NBA Summer League game for the Brooklyn Nets ends in defeat and leaves many unanswered questions. The rookie class has plenty to build on, but the most exciting story was from the second year forward, Drew Timme.

This game won’t determine the future of anyone, whether they had a standout performance or struggled. However, we can make some observations based on this first look at the Nets' young prospects. The league has seen players excel in the Summer League only to falter in the regular season, and there are also cases where players have performed poorly in the Summer League but excelled later.

These initial impressions may seem foolish down the line, but here is what was noted in game one.

Drew Timme is Ready for Rotation Minutes

Timme looked more comfortable than any other Net on the floor and showed signs of dominance in the paint. His stat line pops out with 22 points on 10-for-13 shooting, 9-for-10 if you don't include his three-point attempts.

Timme continued to show his rebounding prowess, which we saw glimpses of last season, with nine rebounds against the Thunder. He has the physicality to contend with forwards on the defensive end and the path to minutes is clear. The competition is Nic Claxton, Michael Porter Jr., Noah Clowney and Danny Wolf. Based on this game, Timme should find himself in the four-man frontcourt rotation.

Nolan Traore Better Fit at Point Guard?

Traore had the best outing among Brooklyn's rookie class with 13 points, three rebounds and three assists. It was assumed that Egor Demin would fulfill primary facilitating duties, but he did not record an assist in 23 minutes of play.

Although Traore had three turnovers, he looked confident with the ball in his hands, getting downhill and looking for kickouts. He also got to the free-throw line for six attempts and converted on all six, a good sign for his attacking abilities. The Nets invested heavily in the guard position in this draft, and Traore looks to be the most ready for the challenge.

Three-Point Shooting Will be Non-Existent

Brooklyn's draftees had many questions regarding their abilities coming into NBA Summer League, with three-point shooting being near the top of the list. The Nets' rookies were largely inconsistent in their outside shooting before making it to the NBA and it looked to remain that way after night one.

The Nets ended the night shooting 25% from three on 32 attempts. No single player made more than two three-pointers, and there appeared to be some first-game jitters. Danny Wolf went 0-for-3 from long range, and Traore went 1-for-3. There is not nearly enough sample size to write any of these players off as potential shooting threats, but for now, work needs to be done.