Egor Dëmin didn’t need much time Wednesday night to know where the first crack showed up.
He opened the game with a basket on a goaltending call and then a pull-up bank shot, but that was about the last clean stretch he had in Brooklyn’s 110-103 loss to the Charlotte Hornets at Barclays Center. By the end of the night, the rookie was left with four points on 2-of-10 shooting and a long list of details to clean up.
“Mine? Not very good,” he said.
That was the plainest read on a rough opener, and Dëmin didn’t stop at the jumper. For him, the issue was bigger than missed shots. He said the energy dipped after those early points, and that part of his game needs to stay high whether he’s bringing the ball up, working off it or sitting on the bench.
“I definitely got to bring the energy, higher energy,” he said.
Brooklyn’s offense now has more layers around him. Julius Randle and Michael Porter Jr. combined for 59 points in the opener, and Randle’s presence should give Dëmin, Nolan Traoré and rookie Mikel Brown Jr. more room to work. The challenge is obvious: those guards have to share the controls, find their rhythm and still matter when the shots don’t drop.
Dëmin said he is not viewing his role as a pure lead guard every possession.
“I wouldn’t say I played primary on the ball,” Dëmin said. “I start, but then obviously having Julius, having Keon [Ellis], we all can bring the ball up.”
That kind of shared creation demands a different feel from possession to possession. Dëmin said defenders are reluctant to switch smaller players onto Randle, which creates chances for Brooklyn’s guards to attack the coverage around him. But he also put the burden on himself when asked whether Charlotte had taken away what he wanted to do.
“Opportunities are there, everything is given to me, and I just got to be able to execute on the level that I want to be at,” he said.
The early stretch made it look like that execution might be there. Then the points stopped, and the energy followed them out of the box score.
Dëmin spent the summer trying to add more to his game after shooting 38.5% from deep as a rookie made his jumper a known part of the package. He said at Media Day that he had been “living in the lifting room” while preparing for a bigger role. Now the work has to translate inside an offense where the ball can move through several hands.
Brown saw that balance up close. In the second quarter, he slipped a pass from under the basket behind his head to Randle for a 3-pointer. Randle had already set up both of Brown’s made baskets, including a first-quarter finger roll that became a three-point play and an early second-quarter three.
“That play was fun,” Randle said afterward.
Brown finished with six points and said he was “very, very excited.” He also said Randle has been helping him sort through what to take and what to let go.
“I’ve been talking to Julius about it, just trying to slow down,” Brown said. “Everything I want is there. It’s just all about me being patient.”
Randle liked what he saw from Brown’s feel for reads, even if the rookie occasionally got sped up. The next step, as Randle described it, is staying under control while still attacking.
Dëmin and Traoré never really got into a groove together. The two combined to shoot 4-of-22, with five assists and six turnovers. Head coach Jordi Fernández said that number doesn’t tell the full story, because it leaves out potential assists and the passes that lead to missed shots.
“I still make the right play, but for the assist to count, you got to make the shot,” Fernández said, explaining the passer’s responsibility.
Traoré finished without a field goal or an assist, but Fernández still wants him getting into the paint and Dëmin ready to shoot. The coach said there is cleanup ahead in setups, play calls and turnovers, though he remains confident in the two guards’ willingness to improve.
Randle, who finished with seven assists, saw room for more help on his end too. Noah Clowney hit all three of his shots and should have gotten more chances, Randle said, and the guards needed support from him as well.
“I got to help Egor out. I got to help Mikel, all those guys,” Randle said. “So, I put it on me.”
Late in the fourth quarter, the mistakes got louder. Moussa Diabaté picked off Porter on one Brooklyn possession and then stole the ball from Randle on the next.
Randle and Porter combined for four of the Nets’ six turnovers in the final period, two apiece. Randle said those giveaways were errors he can’t make.
For Dëmin, the job is simple in theory and difficult in practice: stay engaged no matter who has the ball, speak up, watch the flow and keep his motor from dropping.
What he keeps coming back to is the same question.
The one he wants to keep asking is “what can I do better and how can I help the team.”
In Other News...
Nets Opener Put A Bigger Roster Concern Front And Center
Brooklyns season opener had the full reset treatment, with new uniforms, a new floor and enough early offense to give the building some energy. The Nets moved the ball well in stretches and got scoring contributions from Julius Randle, Egor Dmin, Michael Porter Jr. and rookie Mikel Brown Jr., but the first real test of the night came on the other end. Charlotte found too much comfort scoring inside, and Brooklyn went into halftime trailing with the kind of defensive slippage that can linger beyond one game.
Michael Porter Jr. briefly swung the momentum in the third quarter with a quick burst that helped Brooklyn pull back in front, a reminder of the scoring punch this roster can generate when it catches a rhythm. But the larger concern never really went away, because the opener exposed the sort of interior issues and second-chance trouble that can make a young season feel heavier than it should. For a team trying to establish a new identity, the first night already suggested the margins are going to be thin. [Read more 🡒]
Keon Ellis May Be Claiming A Nets Role Fans Will Notice
A steady preseason run has given Keon Ellis a chance to settle in quickly with the Nets, and the early returns have been encouraging. He has opened all four exhibition games in the starting lineup, giving Brooklyn a look at a guard who is finding rhythm in a more consistent role while putting up efficient shooting numbers and spending nearly 20 minutes a night on the floor.
Ellis also arrives with a built-in familiarity, having already worked under Jordi Fernndez in Sacramento before linking back up in Brooklyn. For now, he is leaning into the part of his game that tends to travel best, defense, while waiting for the regular season to bring a different kind of test and a first real taste of the Barclays Center crowd in a Nets uniform. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Fans Will Be Watching One Thing In Mikel Brown Jr's Debut
Brooklyns first look at Mikel Brown Jr. in an NBA game will come with a little less fanfare than the rookies arrival might usually generate, because the Nets are easing him in carefully to open the 2026-27 season. Brown is still working his way back from an ankle injury, and the club plans to keep an eye on his conditioning while he gradually settles into the pace of the league.
For Nets fans, the obvious subplot is how much Brown can offer right away without being pushed too hard. Jordi Fernndez has taken a cautious approach with the rookie guard, and the early plan points toward a bench role as Brooklyn prioritizes his long-term development and health over any rush to accelerate the timeline. [Read more 🡒]