Nets 124, Hornets 90: Brooklyn runs away with the preseason opener
Michael Porter Jr. scored 16 and Julius Randle 13 as Brooklyn pulled clear in the second half in Charlotte, forcing 12 steals along the way.
The Brooklyn Nets opened their preseason with a 124-90 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night in Charlotte. The result carries little weight in the standings, but it gave the Nets a first look at several new rotation pieces.
How it played out
It was competitive early. Brooklyn led 56-52 at halftime, according to SB Nation's takeaways piece on Yahoo Sports, and the game broke open in the third quarter.
Michael Porter Jr. led Brooklyn with 16 points, followed by Julius Randle with 13 and Nolan Traore with 10 off the bench. Those were the only three Nets in double figures, but every Brooklyn player who took the floor scored. For Charlotte, Liam McNeely scored 14, all in the third quarter, and Naz Reid added 13.
What Brooklyn showed
The Nets forced 12 steals and scored 25 points in transition, the SB Nation write-up noted, though they grabbed only five offensive rebounds. Heading into the fourth quarter they were 16-of-29 from three-point range, while Charlotte was 15-of-31.
Keon Ellis started, which the author read as a sign of confidence in Egor Dëmin's development and in Randle's arrival. The writer also argued that Randle is a more dependable transition ball-handler than Brooklyn has had in some time. On defence, the piece flagged guard-to-guard actions, ghost screens and slips as a problem area. Ben Saraf hit a three off a ball screen, and Chaney Johnson had several dunks, per the same article.
What it means
Preseason results are a poor guide to the regular season, and the article itself notes it is early when assessing who might hold a rotation spot. Drake Powell, Danny Wolf and Josh Minott each hit their first three-pointer, but the author doubted Powell and Minott, and possibly Wolf, would be in the season rotation.
Brooklyn's next game is its first home preseason outing, against Philadelphia at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, according to the same report. Head coach Jordi Fernández, the author suggested, will like the speed and steals and be less pleased with the offensive rebounding.