WASHINGTON — Mikel Brown Jr. confirmed he will make his preseason debut with the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday in Miami after missing the first three preseason games due to an ankle injury. Brown, the No. 6 overall pick, rolled his left ankle three weeks ago during practice. He stated, "Yeah, I feel amazing. Very exciting, because I’ve been waiting and itching to play for the longest to this point. So I’m glad to see that all the work is paying off and just continuing to stay on it and remain healthy."
Brown expressed the difficulty of watching his teammates play while he was sidelined, saying, "It’s very difficult, because you’re watching your teammates playing. You’re like, ‘I wanna be out there, I want to be playing with them.’ So to be able to finally scratch that itch and go out there and do what I do best, it means the world to me."
After missing games against the Hornets and 76ers, Brown was cleared to practice over the weekend and participated in a 5-on-5 session before sitting out Monday’s win in Washington. He noted that playing in his home state of Florida adds significance to his debut.
Brown will be on a minutes limit during the game, but the Nets have been rotating players throughout the preseason. The team improved to 3-0 in the preseason with a 131-122 win against Washington. Michael Porter Jr. led the game with 22 points, while Julius Randle contributed with nine assists. Head coach Jordi Fernández praised Randle's playmaking skills, stating, "His ability to throw the ball on time on target to his teammates, it’s unbelievable. Nine assists in one half, not many players can do it… I think the only one I’ve seen is Nikola [Jokic]."
Randle commented on his evolving role within the team, saying, "[Fernández] is just using me in a lot of different ways, diversifying the way I can attack the defense, just getting more and more comfortable." Nolan Traore also had a strong performance, shooting 6-for-8 overall and 2-for-4 from deep. Fernández noted Traore's offensive efficiency and challenged him to improve defensively.
The Nets, who struggled to force turnovers last season, are currently third in the preseason for turnovers forced and have been effective in converting them into fast break points.