3 Takeaways from the Brooklyn Nets Wacky Win vs Toronto Raptors

Nets could’ve folded at various points Thursday night but led by Cam Johnson and Ben Simmons, they recouped and got it done.

Just when you thought the Brooklyn Nets were done winning gritty, lottery-detrimental games, Jordi Fernández and company dealt their biggest blow of the year to team tank.

On a night where other lottery jockeys, the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards, won their games, the Nets did the same, “beating” the Toronto Raptors by a 101-94 score. It wasn’t pretty, not for basketball purists nor those looking to capture the Flagg, as Brooklyn won a messy contest that had they lost, would have allowed them make some serious ground in the never-ending battle for a higher pick.

But as they have all season, alluded to earlier yesterday by Cam Johnson, the team on the court hasn’t a care in the world for that. Brooklyn had an abundance of chances to let this one go, but held on by their fingertips before pulling themselves up and just over. Here’s what we learned.

A Win for Gang Rebounding

When Nic Claxton tossed the ball into the stands early in the second quarter, prompting Ben Taylor to toss him out of the game, Brooklyn losing the rebounding battle seemed like a given. But for better or worse, there’s no such thing as a given with this team this year. Think grit not given.

The Nets miraculously beat Toronto without their leading rebounder by a whopping 53-34 margin on the glass. Cameron Johnson chipped in with 10 boards alongside his 33 points for the game. Noah Clowney and Day’Ron Sharpe each pulled down nine off the bench. Simmons and Finney-Smith both grabbed five.

While that’s the crew you’d expect to step up with Clax removed from the equation, the collective effort is admirable nonetheless. Clowney was especially active amid a rough shooting night, as the youngster leveraged that highly desirable skillset to remain effective even without the threes going down.

It’s worth noting that Brooklyn also pulled down 15 offensive boards last night — their most in a game all year! That relayed four extra shots for the Nets. In an absolute rock fight that saw one team shoot 40.2% from the field and another shoot 39.5%, it makes all the difference.

Shake is Part of the Answer with Schröder Gone

How the Nets would replace Dennis Schröder, a guy everyone on the Nets beat talked about for months … how he was the base ingredient in their winning formula, was the question of the week for the Brooklyn Nets. It grew more pressing after they turned the rock over a season-high 20 times vs Cleveland on Monday night, their first night without the Menace.

Brooklyn still gave it up 17 times last evening in The Six, which is by no means something to celebrate. But their added production out of the point guard spot was. Much of it came from Shake Milton, who led the team off the bench with 12 points while shooting 5-of-10 from the field and showing that BBIQ that comes with seven years in the “L.”. He and Johnson were the only players to put up double digit shot attempts and shoot at a clip of 50% or better.

Almost all of Shake’s makes (patent pending) came in the midrange. But even though his shot chart is something that no basketball modernist will want to hang on their wall, let’s not pretend like we didn’t idolize a mid-range maestro for years during the 7/11 era.

Let me be clear, Shake Milton is no Kevin Durant. But having said that, he has proved himself as an effective offensive player now with and without Schröder. He’s as good a bet as anyone to be a major factor going forward as the Nets look to pick up the slack.

Cam Johnson’s Bag is Getting Deeper

Speaking of shot profiles, Cam Johnson’s is getting more diverse game by game. Last night he added another layer to it, going an efficient 9-15 from the field to notch his third 30+ point game of the season.

In getting there, Johnson hit from familiar territory.

He did so from the not-so-unfamiliar as well…

I’ve made this point before, but Johnson appears to enjoying his own Mikal Bridges arc right now. Whether in Phoenix or on a Brooklyn team trying (and failing) to contend, he’s never had an opportunity like the one he’s getting this season. Isolation possessions, high-difficulty shots on the block or offense solely created through him are so welcome on this rebuilding Nets team. He’s getting the opportunity to operate as an offensive focal point, and at the very least, is proving that he’s better at it than most of you probably expected.

Johnson also illustrated his evolution as a player last night with his 12 attempts from the charity stripe. He got to his spots, more of which exist now, and made the defense pay one way or another. He’s also now averaging more than twice as many free-throw attempts per game as he did last season.

In terms of his development purely as a basketball player, this growth is everything you want to see. In terms of the Nets front office position as a seller, it’s the same. The price of the brick going up.