{"id":366468,"date":"2026-10-07T02:08:55","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T02:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/366468\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T02:08:55","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T02:08:55","slug":"takeaways-brooklyn-nets-destroy-hornets-124-90-to-open-preseason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/366468\/","title":{"rendered":"Takeaways: Brooklyn Nets destroy Hornets, 124-90, to open preseason"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Brooklyn Nets visited the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night to open preseason play. Mikel Brown Jr. did not play, still rehabbing his ankle injury, nor did Joshua Jefferson and his stiff lower back. All other regulars did, though, with Egor D\u00ebmin, Keon Ellis, Michael Porter Jr., Julius Randle, and Day\u2019Ron Sharpe the starting lineup. The Charlotte Hornets were without many of their projected regulars, including but not limited to Kon Knueppel, Coby White, and Brandon Miller.<\/p>\n

Brooklyn won the ballgame convincingly, final score 124-90, not that we should read too much into that. Day\u2019Ron Sharpe was the only Nets starter who played in the second half. Still, the boys in black-and-white looked good, which, for a team that\u2019s won 46 games over Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez\u2019s first two seasons, is always nice to see. They shot 55% from three through three quarters, blowing it open by the fourth quarter. That was a pleasant change-of-pace too, hopefully a harbinger of what\u2019s to come this season.<\/p>\n

Here are my takeaways from Tuesday night\u2019s reintroduction to Brooklyn Nets basketball, which I jotted down in chronological order, skewing more heavily toward the starters\u2019 minutes, naturally.<\/p>\n

6:22, 1Q \u2014 Brooklyn Nets 20, Charlotte Hornets 12<\/p>\n

Not surprised that Keon Ellis got the start. Michael Porter Jr. singled out Ellis as playing well in camp, plus there\u2019s the pre-existing trust with Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez. But starting Ellis, who doesn\u2019t offer much advantage creation as a ball-handler, does indicate increased confidence in the playmakers around him, specifically D\u00ebmin\u2019s (potential) growth and the arrival of Julius Randle.They\u2019ve switched nearly every ball-screen so far. There\u2019s been a trap or two. Charlotte has already made them pay with a couple offensive rebounds; still, switching would seem to be a natural tactic for Brooklyn, boasting length across positions, though without great rim protection or point-of-attack defense.Day\u2019Ron will be shooting threes this season. Fern\u00e1ndez (who called a clear-out post-up for Randle on the first possession of the game) has to let Randle operate in the middle of the floor, at least a little. Sharpe set a screen, didn\u2019t get it on the roll, then spaced out to the corner and cashed a three. Good sign.<\/p>\n

3:34, 1Q \u2014 Brooklyn Nets 25, Charlotte Hornets 25<\/p>\n

Moe Wagner just got dusted by Sion James on a drive, though playing drop coverage. He switched on a couple possessions, played a little drop. Largely the same offensive positioning as Day\u2019Ron Sharpe. We\u2019ll see how good he is, but a stylistic facsimile for Sharpe.Chaney Johnson sixth man minutes? Somebody must be having a strong camp. (Not as a center, worth noting.)<\/p>\n

12:00, 2Q \u2014 Brooklyn Nets 33, Charlotte Hornets 31<\/p>\n

Ben Saraf \u2014 ahead of Nolan Traore in the rotation tonight \u2014 just stepped behind a ball-screen (after his defender went under) and hit a 3-pointer. Pleasant sight.They\u2019ve having some trouble defending guard-to-guard actions. Ghost screens, slips, etc.<\/p>\n

7:59, 2Q \u2014 Brooklyn Nets 40, Charlotte Hornets 36<\/p>\n

Nets are gonna play faster this season, that much is clear. Julius Randle is empowered to grab the ball and go, Day\u2019Ron has set some early ball-screens for him in semi-transition. I imagine most teams just switch that sorta thing. But there will be plenty of two-man actions with Brooklyn\u2019s lead ball-handler and starting center, like every other team in the league. Can Randle create advantages for others out of it? Big storyline for their offense, I\u2019d imagine.Randle defending Naz Reid with an oomph greater than average 13-year-veteran-playing-preseason intensity. Hmm.<\/p>\n

4:44, 2Q \u2014 Brooklyn Nets 51, Charlotte Hornets 44<\/p>\n

Julius Randle is a more trustworthy transition ball-handler than the Nets have had in some time. This reflects poorly on the last couple years of Nets basketball, though again, Randle\u2019s reputation around the league is a bit harsher than it probably should be.MPJ can still shoot, no worries there.Funny that Egor D\u00ebmin has passed up a couple take catch-and-shoot threes, preferring to drive the lane with his newfound muscle and confidence. Almost dunked on Ryan Kalkbrenner, then a highlight assist. Worth noting that Day\u2019Ron Sharpe cuts into the dunker spot on this second play, rather than remaining in the corner\u2026<\/p>\n

HALFTIME \u2014 Brooklyn Nets 56, Charlotte Hornets 52<\/p>\n

Julius Randle is playing Julius Randle basketball, that\u2019s for sure. Some early PnR as mentioned, willingness to fire catch-and-shoot threes, but he\u2019s posting up mismatches and working on the empty side of the floor as he pleases.Starters seemingly done for the second half, though not Day\u2019Ron Sharpe. Something, nothing? Probably nothing.Michael Porter Jr. dove on the floor near the end of the first half, but more importantly, he helped Brooklyn secure some big-time defensive rebounds by boxing out a Charlotte big. I trust MPJ-Randle-Sharpe to be a strong rebounding front court, even if they\u2019re playing aggressive coverages. Porter Jr. did his part tonight, even in a meaningless game.<\/p>\n

6:58, 3Q \u2014 Brooklyn Nets 67, Charlotte Hornets 57<\/p>\n

Saraf\u2019s driving style and Day\u2019Ron Sharpe\u2019s ability to Gortat screen are a natural pairing. They\u2019ve had a couple nice two-man actions to start this third quarter, though Saraf has also mixed in some rough moments.This lineup (Mann\/Saraf\/Clowney\/Johnson\/Sharpe) doesn\u2019t have a single average 3-point shooter, but it\u2019s the sort of athletic, potentially tough lineup that the Nets might occasionally deploy this season, particularly with a couple injuries.Chaney Johnson, three dunks before the first timeout this quarter. An offensive rebound, a cut, a transition opportunity. Maybe it\u2019s just what he does, though the preseason a mere half-step down from tanking spring basketball.Unimpressed by these Noah Clowney minutes. Not that this is a particularly meaningful sample.<\/p>\n

12:00, 4Q \u2014 Brooklyn Nets 92, Charlotte Hornets 73<\/p>\n

Drake Powell, Danny Wolf, and Josh Minott each checked in during the third quarter and hit his first 3-point attempt. The Nets enter the fourth 16-of-29 from deep, a hair better than what they\u2019re shooting inside the arc. But hey, Charlotte is 15-of-31 from deep, so this 19-point lead isn\u2019t all shooting luck.Drake Powell has gotten to two feet and tired to explode through a Charlotte rim protector twice, after hitting the aforementioned 3-pointer. He got swallowed up and missed a feeble attempt on the first drive, but finished a smooth lefty finger roll the second time.Let\u2019s draw rash conclusions \u2014 I don\u2019t think Powell will be in the rotation to star the season. Same for Josh Minott, and potentially Danny Wolf. Still time for things to change, though.Nolan Traore looks bigger, but no slower. He\u2019s zapped to the rim a few times in this fourth quarter, albeit against a bleak Charlotte lineup.Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez will be thrilled by Brooklyn\u2019s 12 steals (and how about those 25 transition points), less so by their five offensive rebounds. But the Nets will be launching, running, and rebounding this season. At least, that\u2019s the plan, and it was clear to see even on day one.Shoutout Eric Collins: \u201cI have never seen Danny Wolf and [ex-Hornet] Jeremy Lamb in the same room together, thankfully. Scary situation for Jeremy Lamb.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Porter Jr. scored 16 points, Randle added 13, while Traore had ten off the bench. Those were the only double-digit scorers for Brooklyn, who saw every player hit a shot, outside of Dain Danja and Ben Humrichous, who only played the last couple minutes. Liam McNeely scored 14 points \u2014 all in the third \u2014 to lead Charlotte, while trade acquisition Naz Reid scored 13.<\/p>\n

\"Mitchell<\/a><\/p>\n

Mitchell Leff\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

LeBron James, Tyrese Maxey, and Joel Embiid sat out the Philadelphia 76ers\u2019 first preseason game on Monday night. But their next one is in Brooklyn. The Nets\u2019 first home preseason game is against the new-look Philadelphia 76ers, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday evening.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Brooklyn Nets visited the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night to open preseason play. Mikel Brown Jr. did…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":366469,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,3282,1728,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-366468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-nets-analysis","tag-nets-scores","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=366468"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366468\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/366469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=366468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=366468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=366468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}