The Brooklyn Nets are easing Mikel Brown Jr. into the season, and that means he’ll be out Sunday against the Indiana Pacers, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post.
Jordi Fernández is taking the cautious route with the rookie guard after a left ankle sprain in training camp slowed his summer and left him with just one preseason appearance, against the Miami Heat. That injury also helped shape Brooklyn’s approach to Brown’s role early on, with Fernández bringing him off the bench and keeping him on a minutes restriction.
Brown’s numbers haven’t been pretty so far. He’s shooting 27.8% from the field and 33.3% from three.
But the shot has not shaken his confidence. Over the last two games, he’s posted five rebounds, eight assists and two steals.
Fernández said he wants to be careful and not get too excited to hand him starter minutes out of the gate.
Even with the minutes cap, Brooklyn is clearly looking for Brown to keep developing into more than just a promising rookie. The Nets want the reps to help him grow into the kind of contributor they believe he can become and, eventually, push his way into the starting group.
There’s been praise for the guard’s feel, too. In practice, Julius Randle highlighted his high IQ running the pick-and-roll.
At 6-foot-5, Brown has the size to get downhill and finish through contact, but he can also space the floor as a catch-and-shoot threat. Brooklyn needs that kind of versatility, especially if it wants to avoid getting off to slow starts.
With Brown sidelined, Ben Saraf gets a chance to crack the rotation. The second-year guard has not played yet this season because of the crowd in front of him, with Egor Dëmin, Keon Ellis, Nolan Traoré and Brown all ahead of him.
Saraf has already shown he can make the most of limited opportunities. In preseason, he scored eight points with two rebounds and two assists in a win over Charlotte, then followed that with five points, one rebound and three assists in a win over Philadelphia.
Brooklyn has seven first-round picks on rookie-scale contracts from the last two drafts, and Saraf is part of that group. Sunday gives him one shot to make a case against a revamped Pacers team with Tyrese Haliburton back in the mix.
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