Brooklyn Nets: 5 takeaways from 110-108 overtime win at Detroit

5. DeMarre Carroll played like he belonged at the 4

After a tentative preseason opener as the starting power forward, DeMarre Carroll stepped up his game quite well on Monday in Detroit.

Carroll was active on the glass and on defense, even as his shot continued to not drop.

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He finished with nine rebounds in 23 minutes to go with nine points on 3-of-10 shooting, missing all five of his long-range attempts.

For the preseason, Carroll is now 3-for-15 overall and 0-for-9 from 3-point range. If he were a young player, this might be troubling, but for a veteran coming off his best individual season, it’s more that Carroll is getting the kinks out of his system.

Defensively, Carroll — primarily a wing in his career — found himself matched up with the bigger, stronger Blake Griffin often. He held his own. Griffin had 17 points and nine boards, but was just 6-for-14 from the floor and Carroll did a good job of positional defense.

With Rondae Hollis-Jefferson’s status for opening night on Oct. 17 still in the air as he recovers from a hip injury sustained in August, the Nets will need Carroll to hold down the fort and provide floor spacing that Caris LeVert, stepping in for Carroll at the 3, can struggle at times to produce.

So even as his shot wasn’t falling, it was an encouraging effort from Carroll.