Three Takeaways from the Nets Home Opening Loss to the Cavaliers

After a 12-point Brooklyn debut on Wednesday night, Porter Jr. showed more of what he can offensively tonight. He tallied 14 points in the first half alone, on his way to 31 points by the end of the night. Brooklyn acquired Porter Jr. from Denver to give him a chance to be a number one scoring option, and he showed that ability on Friday night, despite the loss.

With the secondary scoring options struggling right now, the Nets will need Porter Jr. to continue scoring at a high rate if they want to be competitive in games and pick up wins. This game showed he's capable of doing just that.

2. Ziaire Williams Impresses

Williams was really the only non-Porter Jr./Cam Thomas player to provide a scoring punch on Friday. He exploded for 25 points off the bench on 9-13 shooting from the field. The 24-year-old former first-round pick only scored one point in the season-opening loss to Charlotte, but was a lot more effective on Friday.

Now in his fifth NBA season, the former Memphis Grizzly has a huge opportunity to cement his spot in the league with a strong year. And Friday night was a great example of what Williams can bring to the table when he's got it going. The Nets will need Williams to be more consistent, and if he is, he could eventually work his way into the starting lineup.

3. Nets Show Resilience

After a terrible showing in the season opener, the Nets dug themselves another big hole on Friday night. But this time, they flipped the script. Once trailing by 22 points early in the third quarter, the Nets dominated in the fourth quarter. Porter Jr., Thomas, and Williams were electric in the fourth, as the Nets' comeback attempt came up just short.

It's great to see this young team rally and fight, despite not getting the final result to go their way. That's a trait that will go a long way toward establishing a winning culture in year two under Jordi Fernandez. If the Nets can start games the way they finished Friday's game, this team could surprise a lot of people this season. What a gutsy response from this bunch.