It would’ve been difficult to dream up a better day for the Brooklyn Nets to begin their season. It was the type of autumn afternoon you imagine when you’re longing for October in the wet heat of July and August. It was cool, crisp outside, with friendly winds, and a sun still peaking through. When “basketball season” starts, that’s what it’s supposed to feel like on the east coast.
And, indoors, the Nets matched Mother Nature’s stage-setting skills, debuting a new floor and uniforms. You don’t often get consensus opinions on things like that, and those of a positive nature are usually even harder to come by. However, both the threads and the hardwood already seem to be well-liked by fans, only adding to the anticipation for tonight.
Then, there are the players: a bushel of sophomores eager to take the next step, a rookie with more promise than any the team has seen in years, and a group of veterans, many with a different point to prove, yet united by their need to prove it.
It was all enough to give a carbon steel sports car goosebumps. It was only right that the Nets gave us an entertaining game in return, even if not a win.
Brooklyn had little trouble carrying over their offensive rhythm from the preseason over into tonight. They started the contest 5-7 from the field. The first points of the year went to Julius Randle, who spun off old teammate Naz Reid for a fadeaway jumper near the charity stripe.
“I was able to find my spots in the flow and rhythm and offense, but honestly I feel like I can get a lot better,” he said.
Randles teammates joined him quickly on the scoreboard. Egor Dëmin came around a screen for a mid-range look around that area soon after, still adding to his shot diet here in the regular season. A few plays later, Michael Porter Jr. stepped into a three after catching a skip pass along the wing. He’s been nailing those for years.
However, when Day’Ron Sharpe exited, so did the music. After picking up his second foul with around seven to play, Mo Wagner subbed in for him. Charlotte took advantage and eventually the lead with about five to go the first, closing it on an extended 22-12 run. They ended up with 14 points in the paint and five offensive boards in the frame as well.
Mikel Brown Jr. also made his NBA debut amid that stretch. He checked in with 3:57 to go in the first. Ironically, the sharpshooter got his first three points as a pro the hard way…
“Yeah, it was great,” MBJ said of his first game. “I enjoyed it. Obviously didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but I enjoyed being out there. First of many.”
Brown looked spry and eager to takeoff in the first half, showing no signs of a bum ankle during the training camp. He almost postered Ryan Kalkbrenner early in the second, getting well above him only to see the ball ricochet out of the cylinder.
You’re going to have those opportunities,“ he said of the near-jam. ”Just got to know when to hold them and know when to fold them when it comes to that stuff. But I’m always going to have that aggressive mindset.”
By all accounts, he looked like a kid out there just having fun. He finished with six points, three assists, and three rebounds while shooting 2-8 from the field and 1-3 from deep.
“He’s gonna be great, man,” Randle said postgame. “I said it from the beginning, but his vision, understanding how to play, make reads off of pick and rolls, or just make the right play every single time comes really natural to him. He’s going to be amazing. He did great. Like, he did exactly how I would expect a first year player to do first game. He was aggressive. I can tell he’s a little sped up at times, but he’s going to continue to get better and better. I think his future is going to be really, really bright in this league.”
“See a lot of confidence, see a lot of poise for a rookie in his first game,” Sharpe added. “He wasn’t afraid of the lights.”
Despite a stoppage after Noah Clowney got into a not-so-friendly game of ring around the rosie with Kalkbrenner, the second quarter gave us some fun back-and-forth action. The Hornets maintained their lead throughout it though, going into the half up 54-48.
Even with Sharpe coming back in to play nearly nine minutes in the second, Charlotte doubled them up in paint scoring for the period, going into the half ahead there by a 30-18 margin. Of course, its early, but the team’s perceived weakness going into the season has been as advertised so far. Nevertheless, Brooklyn hung tough shooting 7-16 from deep in the first while Charlotte shot just 6-24.
Randle hit two of those triples, leading the Nets, and all players minus Brandon Miller (17 PTS) with 15 first half points. It was an uncharacteristically quiet half for Porter Jr, who tied Dëmin and Brown Jr. with just six by that point.
You know the rules with him, though. If he’s not hitting shots now, he’s going to later.
MPJ began the third with a quick 10 points in the periods first four minutes. The last four game via an and-one triple that also pushed the Nets back into the lead for the first time since the 5:37 mark of the first.
However, a solution to Brooklyn’s other problem didn’t present itself so easily. Still looking undersized, on the ensuing Charlotte possession, Brooklyn gave up five shots in one possession. The final was a three from Reid which gave the Hornets the lead once more. Charlotte ended up beating the Nets in second chance points 20-8.
“Just help with the technique,” Fernández said. “If your man doesn’t crash, you can go sandwich and help. Like, it’s all these things that we’ve worked on that obviously we didn’t execute, but I don’t think it was a matter of effort. Our guys played hard. You know, they tried, tried their best. We’re just not there yet to be the hardest playing team for 48 minutes.”
“We got to look at the film,” Randle added. “I think we got to, including myself, I put it on me. We got to impose our physicality on those things and hit people first. So, I’ll set a tone with that. But I think a lot of times rebounding is just wanting to go get it and wanting your will to go get the ball or not let your man get the ball. So, we all got to be better on that front.”
That triple also seemed to rip the seal off the basket for the Hornet shooters. After putting up a tour date in the first half, they went 6-13 from three in the third. A few isolation buckets from Randle kept the Nets within striking distance, though still down five entering the final frame.
Benefitting from a few loose balls that bounced out to a few Nets in position to cherry-pick, Brooklyn cut the it to four with about eight to play. And while that that technically made it a close game, the contest didn’t give that impression. When you’re unable to get stops all night, and down by two or three possessions, it often feels like your down 20 or 30 points.
Getting seals from Kalbrenner and Moussa Diabaté like they’re Nic Claxton and Dorian Finney-Smith, Dennis Schröder continued to find space to score on the interior. In turn, the Hornets continued to stay at an arms distance on the scoreboard.
A Randle and-one got it back down to six with about a minute to go, and the building the loudest it had been since the player introductions (we’re not counting David Beckham’s Who’s in the House appearance), but turnover followed by three straight misses quickly reduced the volume in the building and Brooklyn’s comeback chances.
Julius finished with 33 points, seven assists, and eight rebounds while shooting 11-18 from the field and 3-5 from deep. There’s been no shortage of fantastic Nets debuts over the past 10 years, and this one certainly stacks up with the best of them. Porter Jr. added 26 while shooting 10-21 from the field and 5-11 from deep. He also snatched seven boards.
The stats take a nosedive after that. Nobody else reached double digits. Noah Clowney got closest with nine points to go with three boards and a steal, but he also fouled out of the game with 3:44 to go. After solid preseason showings, Egor Dëmin and Nolan Traoré each struggled, combining to shoot 2-14 from the field and commit five turnovers.
“Mine? Not very good,” Dëmin said of his game tonight. “I’m not very happy with how I end up playing the game. I started with two scored buckets, but then kind of just got slower from a standpoint of my intensity…I think I missed every single shot from the three, some shots that I believe were supposed to go in, but it happens. Obviously, it’s a game. Getting downhill again, I got to get better at finishing because the situations are there. Opportunities are there, everything is given to me and I just got to be able to execute on the level that I want to be at. So, I’m going to be back in the gym as soon as I can, as soon as possible, and working on these thing”
“I think their intentions were great and can clean up a lot of different things, turnovers, setup, calling plays, all those things,” Fernández added. “But we’ll watch film with them and we’ll make them better. And the next time, I’ll still want them to — Nolan touch the paint, Egor will be ready to shoot the ball, and all those things. I mean, that’s the NBA. One day you don’t make them, other day they go in, and you just got to stay ready for the next game.”
Well, he’s not wrong. Here come the another 81.
Final: Charlotte Hornets 110, Brooklyn Nets 103
Milestone Watch
- With 32 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, Julius Randle joined James Harden and Kyrie Irving as the only Nets with at least 30 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in their team debut.
Next Up
Ladies and gentlemen, we’re just getting started. Brooklyn will hit the road for a date with Kenny Atkinson and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night. The Nets haven’t beaten Cavs since March of 2024. The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. EST.
