Mikel Brown Jr. didn’t need long to make his presence felt in Brooklyn’s preseason finale.
Thirty-two seconds into his first game action, the Nets rookie used a screen from Nikola Jović, stayed put, rose from 28 feet and buried a 3-pointer. It was the kind of quick-hit shot that hinted at what Brooklyn may have added in the No. 6 pick, even as the Nets dropped their unbeaten preseason bid Wednesday in a 144-128 loss to the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center.
Brown was back after sitting out Brooklyn’s first three exhibition games with a sprained left ankle, and in 18 minutes on a minutes restriction he flashed the kind of poise that can change an offense. He finished with 15 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals, hitting 4 of 7 shots and two 3-pointers while also committing two turnovers.
His best stretches came when Miami tried to speed him up. On three separate possessions, Brown delivered pocket passes to Mo Wagner’s lead hand as defenders closed in off the ball screen, giving Wagner a clean path to attack a four-on-three advantage. Brooklyn turned those reads into open looks, including a 3-pointer and a lob dunk.
Brown’s official assist total only told part of the story. He kept the ball moving before Miami could reset, and that let Wagner play downhill with space.
“I love his communication, how engaged he was with his teammates. I thought it was a very well-played 18 minutes for him,” Nets head coach Jordi Fernández said postgame.
Brown’s night kept building. After the early long ball, he added a baseline drive, then struck again from deep late in the third quarter by catching a return pass from Chaney Johnson and drilling a 26-footer. Early in the fourth, he picked off a Davion Mitchell pass and finished the other way with a two-handed dunk.
That composure mattered because Brown has spent much of camp working on the little things: stopping on two feet, recognizing the simple pass and avoiding forced plays. The ankle injury delayed all of that game action, leaving him to watch Brooklyn’s chemistry develop from the sideline.
“I feel like I have no choice but to be patient. I want to be out there so bad,” Brown said after practice earlier in the week.
His passing chops showed up in Summer League too, when one of his first notable plays was finding Tyler Bilodeau for an open 3-pointer. Against Miami, those reads held up under more pressure, and they came fast without looking rushed.
Now Fernández has to figure out where Brown fits in a crowded group of young guards. Egor Dëmin continued his strong preseason with 17 points and four 3-pointers on 4-for-7 shooting.
Nolan Traoré added 12 points and five assists. Brown’s shooting range gives him a path to sharing the floor with either guard, while his ability to initiate gives Brooklyn more lineup options to sort through.
The Nets still put up offense in a big way. Michael Porter Jr. led the way with 27 points on 9-for-17 shooting.
Mo Wagner scored 15 on 6-for-7 shooting, and Julius Randle added 15 points and five assists despite going 4-for-13. Brooklyn finished with 28 assists and scored at least 114 points in all four preseason games.
But the defensive end told a different story. Miami hit 59.1% of its shots and outscored Brooklyn 62-38 in the paint.
Even with 11 of the Nets’ 18 players listed at 6-9 or taller, the Heat had too easy a time finishing around the rim. Giannis Antetokounmpo piled up 20 points, 15 rebounds, nine assists and three blocks in fewer than 24 minutes.
Day’Ron Sharpe had 11 points, six rebounds and four assists, but five fouls cut his night to 17 minutes.
Brooklyn gave up at least 30 points in nine of its 16 preseason quarters, including 43 in the third quarter Wednesday. Fernández didn’t hide from it.
“Just defense. I mean, it was a very poor defensive game,” Fernández said.
Miami scored 69 points in the first half and 75 after halftime, and Fernández was even more direct afterward.
“That’s unacceptable. And if we want to be a competitive team, we have to play better defense than that.”
Fernández emptied his bench with 5:41 left, while Brown had already checked out at 8:22 after reaching his minutes limit. Still, after sitting out the first three games, he gave Brooklyn something it had been waiting to see.
The Nets open the regular season at home against the Charlotte Hornets on Oct. 21, and Fernández now has defensive issues to clean up along with a rotation to sort through - including how quickly Brown can take on a bigger role.
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