The Brooklyn Nets have one last preseason tune-up, and they can still come out spotless. On Wednesday night, Brooklyn hosts the Miami Heat with a chance to finish exhibition play 4-0, while also giving rookie Mikel Brown Jr. his first NBA action after sitting out the first three games with an ankle injury.
Brooklyn has already checked off three straight wins, rolling past the Charlotte Hornets 124-90 before taking down the Philadelphia 76ers 114-108 and the Washington Wizards 131-122 on Monday night. Now comes one final test before the games start counting for real next week.
Brown’s debut is the headline. The sixth overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft impressed in Summer League, flashing the scoring and playmaking that put him near the top of the board. Wednesday offers his first chance to show how that translates against NBA competition, while also getting a feel for Jordi Fernández’s system and the teammates he’ll be sharing the floor with once the season opens.
There’s been plenty for Brooklyn to sort through already. Michael Porter Jr. led the Nets with 16 points in the opener against Charlotte, and Julius Randle has already given a glimpse of what he can bring to the offense after joining the team this offseason. Egor Dëmin, Keon Ellis and Nolan Traoré have all had moments, with Traoré providing a lift off the bench in Brooklyn’s first two games.
That matters because Wednesday is the last real chance to sort out rotations, especially in the backcourt and frontcourt. The staff still has decisions to make, and one more preseason game gives them a final look before the regular season begins.
The Heat figure to make that look more serious. Miami enters at 2-1 and is expected to have its regular starters available after resting all five in its narrow 125-124 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.
In that game, Ryan Conwell paced the Heat with 22 points, five rebounds and nine assists, while Vladislav Goldin added 18 points and six rebounds. Nikola Jović finished with 16 points and six rebounds, and Pelle Larsson chipped in 14 points and five assists.
Miami opened preseason with a 129-105 win over the Toronto Raptors and followed that with a 128-118 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. With its top group back in the mix, the Heat will try to close exhibition play on a positive note before facing Orlando on Friday night.
For Brooklyn, the bigger picture is simple: stay unbeaten, get Brown on the floor, and squeeze out as much useful information as possible before the opener next Wednesday at Barclays Center against Charlotte. The Nets and Heat are set for a 7:30 p.m. ET tipoff.
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Michael Porter Jr. Voices A Frustration Nets Fans Know Too Well
Michael Porter Jr. has only been in Brooklyn long enough to notice something Nets fans have been saying for a while: home games do not always feel like home games. Speaking recently, Porter pointed to the way opposing supporters can take over the building and said the Nets need more of their own crowd noise if they want a real home-court edge. It is the kind of observation that tends to land differently when it comes from a new arrival, because it underscores just how much the atmosphere still has to grow.
The timing also fits with a roster that is trying to reset its image and its expectations, including the recent addition of Julius Randle. Porter and Randle both know the conversation around attendance and energy changes fast when a team starts winning more consistently, and that is the larger point hanging over Brooklyn right now. The Nets can add talent, but they still have to give the fan base enough reason to fill those seats and make the arena sound like it belongs to them. [Read more 🡒]
Julius Randle Just Gave Nets Fans A Reason To Revisit Finchs Comments
Julius Randle has wasted little time making an impression in Brooklyn, opening the preseason in a way that has given the Nets plenty to like about what he can bring. Coach Jordi Fernandez has been encouraged by the way Randle has fit in so far, and that matters for a team looking for more than just scoring from one of its most talented pieces.
Randle has long been viewed as a player who can set a tone as much as fill a box score, and the Nets seem to value that edge. For fans still parsing recent chatter around his demeanor elsewhere, his early work in Brooklyn is a reminder that his impact is about more than production, and the preseason is offering a first look at how that presence could matter over time. [Read more 🡒]
Nolan Traore Is Giving Nets Fans A Real Rotation Debate
The early preseason has given the Nets a little something to think about beyond the usual conditioning and lineup tinkering. Nolan Traore and Noah Clowney have both flashed enough to stand out even as the team continues sorting out roles and minutes, and Traore in particular has made a strong impression in limited playing time. For a Brooklyn group still in the middle of evaluating what fits, those kind of performances tend to matter more than the box score suggests.
Traores play has already put him in an interesting spot heading into Wednesdays action, because he has forced himself into the conversation as Brooklyns rotation takes shape. The challenge now is that the competition for minutes is only going to get tighter as the season moves forward, and the Nets will have to decide how much weight to give a preseason surge when the roster is healthy and the pecking order starts to settle. [Read more 🡒]