The Brooklyn Nets are turning to their rookies for some extended court time as they wrap up the season, having been knocked out of playoff contention. One player making the most of this opportunity is Ben Saraf, who’s starting to show why the Nets picked him at No. 26 in last June’s draft.
Saraf, a 6-foot-6 point guard, has had his ups and downs this season. But he's beginning to find his groove, as evidenced by his performance in Sunday’s 126-122 loss to the Sacramento Kings. Saraf notched a season-high 22 points, shooting 10-of-20 from the field, and added five assists with just two turnovers.
Reflecting on his game, Saraf said, “I think that I did pretty good. I got to the rim and played off two feet like the coaches wanted.
I felt like I was able to finish at the rim. They didn't have a crazy shot-blocker, so I was able to get the go to go all the way to the basket.”
He was the only Net to break the 20-point barrier in the game. At just 19, Saraf has been scoring in double figures in five of his last six outings, showing a promising trend.
Over this stretch, Saraf is averaging 12.3 points on 47.5 percent shooting, with 4.5 assists and 3.0 turnovers per game. His ability to finish at the rim and manage turnovers as Brooklyn’s main ball-handler caught the eye of Jordi Fernandez, who noted, “It was great.
Probably one of his best games at finishing at the rim. I like how aggressive he was.
Five assists to two turnovers. Our 30 assists to only seven turnovers as a team is very impressive.
So that's definitely a step forward for us.”
While Saraf excelled driving to the basket and facilitating play, his long-range shooting remained a work in progress, missing all five of his three-point attempts. Currently, he's hitting just 20 percent from beyond the arc on 3.6 attempts per 36 minutes this season.
The loss to Sacramento moved Brooklyn further down in the draft lottery standings, now trailing the Kings by two wins with 11 games left. The Nets sit just ahead of the Washington Wizards and Indiana Pacers in the race for draft positioning, with upcoming games against all three teams.