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 the Nets player grades following Saturday's loss to the Cavaliers:
Egor Demin: B+
Demin had another uneven game as he did a good job passing the ball, but he seemed to struggle in almost every other way on the floor. Demin struggled mightily with his offense in the early going as he couldn't find his rhythm shooting the ball, but he also had trouble defending without fouling as he picked up his fifth foul with over three minutes left to play in the third quarter. However, Demin picked up his effort in the fourth quarter to the tune of 15 points on five made three-pointers.
Keon Ellis: C-
Ellis will have a tough task ahead of him for the entire season as he will be guarding the opposing team's best perimeter player, but the choice between Donovan Mitchell and James Harden is not an easy one to make. Ellis struggled with his perimeter shooting and while he did his best to apply pressure on the perimeter, he couldn't do much to limit Mitchell's impact.
Michael Porter Jr.: A-
Porter did a great job of scoring the ball overall as he was able to get to his sweet spots on the floor so that he could contribute on the offensive end, but his three-point shooting left something to be desired. Porter wanted to be better rebounding the basketball and playing defense, but this game was a rough one to watch for the entire team in both of those areas.
Julius Randle: B-
Randle, similar to Porter, has the responsibility of creating plenty of offense for himself and others and he was able to get the job done again, albeit for his multiple turnovers. Randle scored in a variety of ways and gave effort in the rebounding phase of the game, but the hope is that he'll be able to get some offensive help outside of Porter against teams like the Cavaliers.
Day'Ron Sharpe: C-
Sharpe had a rough game, to put it bluntly. Granted, he came close to a double-double with seven points and eight rebounds, but he also shot just 3-of-10 from the field and picked up two flagrant fouls on his way to fouling out. Sharpe is being asked to do a lot as he has to protect the rim and get out to shooters, but it looks like he's still adjusting to being a starting center.
Josh Minott: C
Minott saw some minutes as head coach Jordi Fernandez was looking for a spark in the third quarter and he did a solid job of playing within his role as the perimeter defender and cutter. Minott made his season debut in this game so it's hard to tell where he stands in the rotation, but this was a decent performance for him after being trusted to produce in a pivotal spot.
Noah Clowney: C
Clowney had a fairly-quiet game on both ends of the floor as the offense centered around Porter and Randle and he looks like he was lost in the shuffle. Clowney ddi a solid job of rebounding and being physical on the defensive end of the floor without fouling so the hope is that he can contribute more as he continues to received playing time during the season.
Chaney Johnson: B-
Johnson played just five minutes in Wednesday's season-opening loss to the Hornets, but he was much better in this game as he looked more settled on both ends of the floor. Johnson did not shoot the ball well, but him being aggressive is important to see after what happened on Wednesday and his extra effort is easy to see from watching the game.
Mo Wagner: C
Wagner had another tough outing as he couldn't find his rhythm shooting the ball aside from his one three-pointer that he made within the flow of the offense. Wagner was fairly-involved in the rebounding phase of the game, but the passing and craftiness that he was showing during the preseason has not shown itself yet in the regular season.
Mikel Brown Jr.: B
Brown came into this game knowing that he would not be playing tomorrow against the Pacers and he understandable wanted to do as much as he could in the time he was given. The rookie once again struggled shooting the ball, but his willingness to take and make big shots was encouraging and he was more active on the defensive end as well.
Nolan Traore: D
Traore did not see much time in this one after making an appearance in the first half as it looked like Fernandez was looking towards Johnson and Minott to get the spark. Traore was hoping to make a better effort than he did on Wednesday, but he didn't see enough playing time to make a meaningful difference so time will tell if he will see more minutes moving forward.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets player grades after 125-121 loss to Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers