Michael Porter Jr. has made his name and his money on offense, but the Nets have challenged him to improve on the other end.
Wednesday’s debut in a Nets uniform wasn’t a great example.
Porter had 12 points in a loss, not only shooting just 5 of 15 and 2 of 7 from deep, but struggling on the glass and on the defensive end in the Nets’ 136-117 loss to the Hornets.
“I just didn’t feel like I was as fresh as I needed to be. I feel like a lot of the guys were probably a little bit more sluggish, a second too slow,” said Porter.
The forward had just four boards and his minus-19 was tied for a game worst.
He was tied with Cam Thomas, who also had a rough night and shot 2 of 7.
“This is the game of basketball. If you don’t score, it’s hard to win. So if your best scorers don’t score, it’s going to be a tough night. But you still got to give yourself a chance,” said Jordi Fernández. “I don’t care if Mike and CT have a rough night, we still have to fight and maybe double team more and hustle and run an offensive rebound and we still got to be there to try to fight for the game.
“It cannot be like, ‘Oh they didn’t score, we lost.’ It doesn’t work that way. Always give yourself a chance no matter what. So, they gotta do their jobs. Shots sometimes are going to go in or not, but, yeah, I don’t care about that. Just take the right shots, make the right plays and have a positive impact.”
Porter admitted beforehand he’ll need to step up on defense and rebounding for the undersized Nets.
“Yeah, I’ve got to be locked in every possession. Defensive rebounding,” said Porter “We start kind of small right now. We don’t (have size). In Denver, there was a lot of size. Over here, it’s different. So I’ve got to get on the glass. I’ve got to kind of be a rim protector a little bit more, and just be locked in every possession.”
Fans have wondered who is part of the Nets’ long-term core. The five first-round rookies might qualify. And now apparently so does Noah Clowney, the Nets exercising their 2026-27 team option on the forward.
“It feels good to know that they believe in me to do that. So for them to do that means they believe in me being some form of long-term piece. So, it feels good to know that,” Clowney told The Post.
Clowney is set to make $5,414,034 next season.
Danny Wolf sprained his ankle in the shootaround Wednesday morning and, after being listed as questionable vs. the Hornets, was eventually ruled out.
The rookie forward was walking without crutches, a boot or even a limp before tip-off. The Nets host the Cavs on Friday in their home opener.
The Nets started Ben Saraf, Cam Thomas, Terance Mann, Porter and Nic Claxton. Saraf is the second-youngest Net to ever start a game.
