The Brooklyn Nets (0-2) did not have the kind of season-opening performance they were hoping for when they lost to the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday. While Brooklyn did what it needed to do to review what went wrong, they had to put those lessons to the test against a tough opponent in the Cleveland Cavaliers (1-1), but the Nets paid the price for not playing hard for all four quarters.
The Nets lost to the Cavaliers on Saturday 125-121 despite the fact that they were able to come back from being down as many as 22 points to make the game interesting in the end. Forward Michael Porter Jr. led the way for Brooklyn to the tune of 28 points and nine rebounds while forward Julius Randle also did his part with his 23 points and six rebounds.
Given
what the Nets almost pulled off in the fourth quarter, they're going to kick themselves from losing the first two quarters by a combined 14 points due mostly to inconsistent effort. Brooklyn also struggled defending Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, and Evan Mobley and that part of their team defense has to improve.
Here are three takeaways for the Nets following Saturday's loss to the Cavaliers:
Michael Porter Jr. Continues Hot Start To Season
Porter ended this game with 28 points, nine rebounds, and four steals in 33 minutes before fouling out, giving him his second straight game scoring at least 26 points. While plenty can be said about how Porter and the rest of the team are underperforming on the defensive end of the floor, he is starting this season like he did last season and that should bode well for Brooklyn moving forward.
Egor Demin And Mikel Brown Jr. Finally Share The Floor
Some of the talk concerning the Nets this season have revolved around when Demin and Brown, Brooklyn's No. 8 and No. 6 overall picks in the last two drafts, respectively, would share the floor. The duo did not see the floor together in Wednesday's season-opener against the Hornets as they have served as natural replacements for each other at point guard, but that changed against the Cavaliers and the results were encouraging.
Nets Have To Play For Four Quarters
The Nets went into halftime trailing the Cavaliers 68-54 and part of the reason for that double-digit deficit was just the poor defensive performance and ball security. However, the second half was a different story for Brooklyn as they seemed to increase the intensity on both ends of the floor, but falling behind by 22 points essentially ensured that the Nets wouldn't win this game unless everything went their way.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: 3 Nets takeaways from 125-121 loss to James Harden, Cavaliers
