The Brooklyn Nets fell to the Charlotte Hornets 110-103 on opening night.
Julius Randle was a silver lining in this one, finishing with 33 points on 11-of-18 shooting, eight rebounds and seven assists. Michael Porter Jr. added 26 points on 10-of-21 shooting and seven rebounds.
The Nets failed to get a whole lot of production elsewhere and a lot of rotational regulars from last season were noticeably missing.
Naz Reid dazzled with 20 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in his Hornets debut. Dennis Schroder lit up his former team with 19 points and six assists.
Here are three takeaways from the Nets' loss to the Hornets.
The Nets Are Not Here to Play Around
One of the biggest complaints from last season is that this Nets team is too soft. Well, there were several instances in the first half where the team was willing to throw a few push and shoves and really mix it up with this Hornets team.
Could it be a direct impact of having Randle in the locker room? Perhaps, but the more the Nets are willing to show their physicality on a nightly basis, the easier it'll be for them to strike more fear into their opponents.
Julius Randle Already Making an Impact
Randle's physical play has clearly bled throughout the rest of this group, but he proved to be the initiating force this Nets team needed last season.
He was getting downhill with force and setting Porter for some very clean looks.
The Nets may not have a lot of offensive weapons outside of Randle and Porter, as Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. still need time to develop, but their offense could be in for some explosive nights when both guys get it going, especially as Brooklyn's newest duo gets more acclimated to playing alongside each other.
Nets Point Guard Rotation Struggles
Nolan Traore, Demin and Brown could hardly get anything to go in this one.
Demin couldn't buy a 3-pointer despite that being the strongest aspect of his game and was essentially a nonfactor from the playmaking department.
Brown checked into the game to heavy applause and his name was chanted. He drilled a deep 3-pointer but was otherwise held in check and his questionable shot selection was on display as well.
Learning to become a floor general at the NBA level is not an easy task, but all three Nets point guards are 20 years old.
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