It’s all about development. It’s all about development. It’s all about development. Long Island lost its 11th straight Sunday, this time in the Winter Showcase BUT Jaylen Martin shined.
After getting only two wins in the 14-game Tip-Off Tournament that opens the G League season, the Long Island Nets played their second game in the league’s Winter Showcase on Sunday afternoon in Orlando. Long Island. Would they break their 10-game losing streak? Nope. This time they would fall to the Rip City Remix, 114-106. At least this one was more competitive than the first.
The game came just two days after Long Island played its worst game of the season, losing to the San Diego Clippers by 48. Despite remaining out of the win column, it was a breath of fresh air for Long Island to stay in the game until the end.
Alongside Long Island’s competitiveness, there was a bright spot for the organization. Jaylen Martin, the 6’6” 20-year-old two-way played his best game in the NBA G-League. Coming into this game, Martin’s career-high in points was 28 which he put up for the Westchester Knicks last season. He was a two-way for the Knicks and Nets last season.
Martin also played well in other aspects of the game. He picked up seven rebounds, which was the fourth-best on the team and registered three assists, which was third-best on the team. It’s safe to say that this was not only Martin’s best game as a Net but also his best game in the NBA G-League.
Aside from Martin, Killian Hayes also had himself a game. The 23-year-old former Pistons lottery pick finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists, and three steals. Hayes almost picked up his second triple-double in three games. He put up 15, 11 and 12 vs. the Capital City Go-Go a week ago.
Kendall Brown, who played a bit for the Pacers last season, also had a big game. He finished with 27 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. This could have been Brown’s best game as a Net, as well. Brown is one of the few Nets who brings NBA experience to the G-League, having him provide valuable minutes is expected, and he has certainly been living up to that.
Unfortunately, Dariq Whitehead underperformed. Whitehead, who started the game and got some good minutes, finished with only nine points, connecting on three of his 12 shots, including only one of his seven attempts from beyond the arc.
After a 26-point performance on November 24 for the Long Island Nets and an 18-point performance for the Brooklyn Nets a few days later, Whitehead has been up and down in the G League since. In the immediate aftermath of his 6-of-10 3=point showing for Brooklyn, he averaged 19.3 points, 5.3 boards and 3.7 assists for Long Island in three games, two of them 20 point performances. Then after a still unexplained nine-minute stint that saw him go scoreless Sunday, Whitehead recorded a total of only 15 points In his two Winter Showcase games,
Tyson Etienne, one of the Long Island’s starters, finished with only two points and two assists while fouling out. The combo guard is likely to see fewer minutes if and when Reece Beekman, the 6’3” point guard picked up in the Dennis Schroder trade, arrives in Long Island.
The Nets’ newest player, Kevin Obanor had a solid debut today. He finished with a double-double of his own. The 6’8” Texas Tech product netted 11 points while picking up a team-leading 12 rebounds. He also managed to get two assists and one steal.
At the end of the first quarter, the Long Island Nets only trailed by four points. This was a much better performance than the last game as they kept it close throughout. At halftime, Long Island was down by just two points. This was a great half for Long Island as they protected the ball much better than they have in previous games.
The third quarter was when Rip City began to pull away. Even though the Remix separated themselves from the Nets, they entered the fourth with only a seven-point lead. Long Island was unable to catch up in the final quarter, as Rip City held on to the eight-point victory.
Remix guard Alex Reese tallied 21 points, six rebounds, two assists and four blocks in 27 minutes. Rip City guard James Bouknight posted 19 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals in 15 minutes.
Next Up
Mercifully for the Long Island Nets, G League records and stats reset now. The regular season gets underway on December 30 as the Long Island Nets travel to Delaware to take on the Delaware Blue Coats. The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. ET and can be watched on the Long Island Nets and NBA G-League respective websites.
It’s possible we may see both Whitehead and Martin as soon as Monday night with the big club vs. the Heat in Miami. The two are only listed as “questionable” and Orlando is a mere 240 miles from Miami.