For the Nets, Wednesday was finally MBJ Day.
Rookie Mikel Brown Jr. — their highest-drafted player in 16 years, and the linchpin of their rebuild — finally made his delayed debut.
The No. 6 pick in the June draft, Brown competed in summer league, but rolled his left ankle three weeks ago in training camp. After missing the first three preseason games, the 20-year-old was finally cleared and was available off the bench in Wednesday’s preseason finale in Miami.
“Yeah, I feel amazing,” Brown told The Post before scoring 15 points in 18 minutes of the bench in the Nets’ 144-128 preseason loss to the Heat in Miami. “Very exciting because I’ve been waiting and itching to play for the longest to this point. So I’m glad to see all the work is paying off and just continuing to stay on it and remain healthy.
“[I’d been doing] strength work, getting the strength in the ankle back, strengthening the muscles around it. I’ve been attacking it every single day. Just to be able to just go out there and just go play basketball again, it’s going to mean the world.”
Finally getting Brown on the court — even if it’s off the bench and on a minutes restriction — will mean the world to the Nets.
Two years of tanking garnered Egor Dëmin last year and now Brown.
But the rolled ankle kept Brown out of their wins over the Hornets, 76ers and Wizards.
“It’s very difficult because you’re watching your teammates playing. You’re like ‘I want to be out there. I wanna be playing with them,’ ” Brown told The Post. “So, to be able to finally [scratch] that itch and to be able to go out there and do what I do best, it means the world to me.”
Over the first few weeks of preseason, while Brown was sidelined, he has made the best use of that time not only strengthening his ankle, but watching and learning.
That meant not only learning coach Jordi Fernández’s system as best he could from the sidelines, but the tendencies of teammates like Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle, whom he hadn’t played with.
The point guard finally got to start using all those tidbits Wednesday.
“It’s different because in the game you’ve got different types of concepts and schemes that you’re going to go up against depending on the team you play,” Brown told The Post. “But just seeing the little things — seeing where the vets like the ball at, seeing where most of the guys like the ball — especially as a point guard, you want to try to get them as many easy buckets as possible.
“I know that’s difficult in this league, but it’s my job. It’s my job to be able to look at what spots I can create and where I can be aggressive.”
The Nets kept the same starting lineup in the finale against the Heat, with Dëmin running the point and veteran Keon Ellis at shooting guard.
Ellis is the only above-average defender in that lineup. That, along with Brown’s minutes restriction, could keep the latter coming off the bench.
After Dëmin missed his rookie preseason, he came off the bench through the first eight games. The Nets could use similar kid gloves with Brown.
“Just remain who I am … and just play hard. They’ve just been telling [me], play hard, play your heart out. We know what you can do on both sides of the ball, and we know what you’re capable of. They want to see that out of me every single game,” Brown told The Post. “And me just remaining consistent with my routine when it comes to being straightforward on what they want me to do. And just attacking it, head of steam, full head of steam.”
Neither Brown nor Fernandez would specify the rookie’s minutes restriction, or what it would have to go up to before the coach would consider starting him.
“Coach is going to talk to me, and the performance staff is going to talk to me,” Brown told The Post. “But until then, I’m all in. I’m all gas and no brakes.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
