Nets’ Summer League swing in California, as Egor Dëmin’s scoring flare meets Milwaukee in matchup

Brooklyn’s NBA Summer League roadshow continues in California as the Nets take on the Milwaukee Bucks, their second game of the California Classic after falling short in their opener against the Sacramento Kings. The matchup is less about a standings chase and more about development, role clarity, and whether Brooklyn can tighten the finish against an opponent from the same evaluation window.

A key theme heading into the Nets’ second game is that there were positives in the loss, even if the Nets “couldn’t close it out” versus the Kings. Egor Dëmin provided one of the clearest bright spots, scoring 23 points and looking comfortable in the rhythm of Summer League play. Beyond the total, the way he carried himself was the kind of early report teams watch for as they separate skill from nerves.

On the defensive end, Brooklyn also found its footing, specifically in how it handled one of Sacramento’s more immediate scoring threats. In that first game, the Nets’ defense drew attention for the job done on Darius Acuff Jr. after he reached a high-volume scoring stretch, highlighted by a report that he finished with 25 points in 24 minutes on 29 shots. That contrast, a hot-handed opponent being forced into a heavy workload while the Nets kept producing looks, is the kind of blueprint that matters when the competition level rises game to game.

This time, the player availability looks different. Mikel Brown Jr. was not in the Nets’ first game and will again miss the contest versus Milwaukee, with the expectation reported that he will play on Monday against the Warriors. Along with Brown’s absence, Brooklyn is also expected to sit several other names for this game, including Dëmin, Ben Saraf, Drake Powell, Danny Wolf, Tyler Bilodeau, and Chaney Johnson.

That creates a practical storyline for the Nets: who handles the on-court minutes when the obvious statistical standouts get held out, and who can translate effort into structure. With the group that remains, the reported focus shifts to Hunter Sallis, described in the discussion as a relation of James Harden, as well as whoever else is available to handle ball-handling, spacing, and defensive rotations for an extended run.

On the Bucks side, the conversation also points to at least one notable absence from Milwaukee’s reported roster look. Nate Ament, a player the Nets may or may not have had interest in, is listed as not playing, and there is additional context that other roster situations may be affected by movements that do not fully finalize until Monday.

When Summer League games get treated as exhibition, it can lead to mixed interpretation. Still, patterns from role players who get extended work, and from the team’s late-game organization when the usual scoring options sit, tend to be the most actionable takeaways. Brooklyn’s priority in this second California Classic game is likely to be less about the opponent and more about execution under a tighter evaluation lens.

The next watch point is Monday’s reported return of Brown Jr. against the Warriors, which could change the Nets’ shot creation and defensive matchups immediately. For now, this Bucks contest offers a clearer look at Brooklyn’s depth, especially in the minutes where multiple candidates must show they can carry responsibilities without the same star-level usage.