{"id":366772,"date":"2026-10-07T12:12:52","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T12:12:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/366772\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T12:12:52","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T12:12:52","slug":"5-takeaways-from-nets-preseason-opener-as-julius-randle-and-michael-porter-jr-click-quickly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/366772\/","title":{"rendered":"5 takeaways from Nets\u2019 preseason opener as Julius Randle and Michael Porter Jr. click quickly"},"content":{"rendered":"

Egor D\u00ebmin<\/a> got downhill, drew help and whipped a behind-the-back pass to Day\u2019Ron Sharpe for a dunk. That\u2019s progress within itself. A quarter later, Chaney Johnson turned the third period into a personal dunk contest.<\/p>\n

By the fourth quarter, Brooklyn\u2019s younger groups were still flying around, still playing hard, making Tuesday\u2019s preseason opener worth watching.<\/p>\n

The Nets opened the preseason with a 124-90 road win over the Charlotte Hornets. Michael Porter Jr. finished with 16 points and five rebounds on 6-for-9 shooting, while Julius Randle added 13 points and three assists. The Nets shot 55% from the field overall, went 20-for-37 from 3-point range and finished with 31 assists against 14 turnovers.<\/p>\n

Charlotte was missing several rotation players, including Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller, but that shouldn\u2019t take credit from a prepared Brooklyn squad that handled business. Still, one early October game against a depleted roster offers little basis for sweeping conclusions.<\/p>\n

However, it did give the Nets plenty to like, right through the final buzzer. They won every quarter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you win every quarter its a good sign,\u201d head coach Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cWe have different groups\u2026they did whatever it took to get wins every quarter. That mindset is important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nets basketball is back.<\/p>\n

Here are five takeaways from the opener.<\/p>\n

RANDLE AND PORTER CLICKED FAST<\/p>\n

Porter and Randle\u2019s first game as teammates produced 29 points on 10-for-16 shooting, including six 3-pointers. The way they found those shots was even more encouraging.<\/p>\n

Randle repeatedly got into the paint, drew help and moved the ball once Charlotte\u2019s defense committed. Porter needed almost no space to punish the ensuing rotations. Each assisted the other on a first-quarter 3-pointer, showing how the partnership can work without either player spending offensive trips in isolation.<\/p>\n

Randle also gives Brooklyn somewhere to turn when a possession gets stagnant. The veteran forward can create a paint touch against a set defense and force somebody to react. That should make life easier for Porter and the Nets\u2019 young guards as the season continues.<\/p>\n

D\u00cbMIN CREATED, DIFFERENTLY<\/p>\n

D\u00ebmin scored six points. His five assists were the better measure of how he performed in the preseason opener.<\/p>\n

The second-year jumbo guard attacked closeouts, got into the lane and created without pounding the rock excessively. The behind-the-back feed to Sharpe was the highlight, but D\u00ebmin had already done the toughest part by drawing another defender. Once the defense collapsed, he found the opening. That\u2019s the point.<\/p>\n

The 20-year-old also made two of three 3-pointers and nearly finished a left-handed dunk over Ryan Kalkbrenner. If converted, it probably would\u2019ve ended up on a poster.<\/p>\n

Four fouls gave him something to clean up. The aggression gave Brooklyn something to build on, and a sign that D\u00ebmin\u2019s development is on the right track.<\/p>\n

GROWING UP<\/p>\n

Nolan Traor\u00e9\u2019s added strength was impossible to miss. So was the burst he retained.<\/p>\n

The Frenchman scored 10 points on 3-for-4 shooting in 10 minutes, repeatedly touching the paint and playing with more force on both ends. Drake Powell brought similar conviction, attacking the rim and stepping confidently into his jumper on his way to nine points on 4-for-6 shooting.<\/p>\n

Danny Wolf added nine points and five assists in 14 minutes. Josh Minott supplied six points and two steals in eight.<\/p>\n

Together, they played faster, stronger and with far less hesitation than Brooklyn often got from its youngsters last season. Rookies Mikel Brown Jr. and Joshua Jefferson didn\u2019t play because of injury.<\/p>\n

ROTATION NOTES<\/p>\n

Fern\u00e1ndez used 10 players before halftime, and the order offered an early look at the competition for minutes.<\/p>\n

Mo Wagner was the first reserve, followed by Terance Mann and Johnson. Noah Clowney and Ben Saraf completed the first-half group. Traor\u00e9, Minott, Wolf and Powell waited until after halftime.<\/p>\n

Johnson made his opportunity count. All three of his field goals were dunks. Wagner quietly contributed five assists.<\/p>\n

Minott\u2019s late entrance bears attention. His length and activity affected possessions immediately once he checked in, giving Fern\u00e1ndez another option to consider. A preseason opener settles very little about a depth chart. Fern\u00e1ndez, nevertheless, has more playable combinations than minutes to distribute.<\/p>\n

THESE GUYS CAN BE ANNOYING<\/p>\n

Keon Ellis, in his first start as a Net, pressured the ball. Minott crowded passing lanes. Traor\u00e9 dug at dribbles. Powell competed. Wolf used his size. Johnson supplied length and athleticism.<\/p>\n

There could be a defensive identity in all of it.<\/p>\n

Brooklyn had lapses. Rookie Liam McNeeley scored 14 points and buried four 3-pointers. The Nets consistently made Charlotte work through extra bodies and active hands, though, then turned the disruption into transition opportunities.<\/p>\n

Sharpe helped anchor the defense with eight points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 18 minutes.<\/p>\n

The shooting will come back to earth on most nights. Brooklyn\u2019s effort, size and willingness to share the rock have a better chance of holding up consistently.<\/p>\n

Fern\u00e1ndez kept changing groups Tuesday. The energy stayed.<\/p>\n

Brooklyn returns home Thursday to host the Philadelphia 76ers in its second preseason game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Egor D\u00ebmin got downhill, drew help and whipped a behind-the-back pass to Day\u2019Ron Sharpe for a dunk. That\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":366773,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,17168,17661,4600,21,4475,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-366772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-hornets","tag-julius-randle","tag-michael-porter-jr","tag-nba","tag-nets","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366772","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=366772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366772\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/366773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=366772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=366772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=366772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}