The Brooklyn Nets will head down South with their heads held high, coming off their first home victory of the season against the Charlotte Hornets.

Mikel Brown Jr. looked much more poised, getting downhill with intention and converting a couple of stepback 3-pointers off of smooth crossovers.

The three-level scoring potential is there for Brown, but as he gets adjusted to the NBA, he's going to have to learn how to adjust his game against different defenses each night.

The Atlanta Hawks bring one of the longer, grittier defenses the league has to offer, which gives opposing guards a ton of trouble night in and night out.

That defense sometimes got to Jalen Brunson during the New York Knicks' championship run last season, forcing Brunson to scratch and claw and get down and dirty to tack on each point to his final box score.

That might make Brown a bit more trigger-happy than many would like and force him into a ton of turnovers, but getting him exposed to kind of defense will only help him be more efficient with his on- and off-ball movements and read what some of the best defenses are willing to give him.

But the Nets will need more than Brown to step up his efforts. They'll need Julius Randle to continue initiating the offense downhill and not settle for as many jumpers.

Randle converting a couple of open 3-pointers in a game is a nice added bonus, but him getting downhill allows him to use his bulky frame to bully opposing defenders down low to either gain an advantage at the cup or getting easy points at the free-throw line.

Michael Porter Jr. needs to also carry forward the momentum from Wednesday's win, as he was extremely intentional about his off-ball movements, helping him square up on some beautifully formed jumpers from downtown.

Nolan Traore will also need to continue putting pressure on the rim with his blazing speed, but it'd be a nice added bonus if he can continue his hot shooting from deep.

The Nets' defense will have its hands full trying to contain Jalen Johnson, a downhill threat who can impact multiple aspects of the game on both ends of the floor, should he suit up.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker has also developed into one of the league's better 3-point shooters, so the Nets' defense will need to be ready to close out.