Brooklyn Is 3–0, Randle Is Dishing — Now Mikel Brown Has to Fit
GOATIFYBrooklyn is three games into its preseason and still unbeaten. The Nets followed wins over Charlotte and Philadelphia with a 131–122 victory in Washington on October 12, a night that offered a more interesting story than the 3–0 record: Julius Randle is creating for others, Michael Porter Jr. is finding clean scoring opportunities, and the young guards are pushing the tempo. For a team that spent last season searching for a stable identity, those are encouraging early signals.
They are not proof that Brooklyn has suddenly become a contender. Washington scored freely, the Nets committed 18 turnovers, and the half-court defense still has gaps. But the offense is showing a shape that did not always exist before Randle arrived. Now the next test is about to walk onto the floor: sixth overall pick Mikel Brown Jr. is expected to make his preseason debut against Miami on October 14 after recovering from a sprained left ankle. The question is not whether the rookie can score. It is how quickly he can join an offense that has started to find its rhythm without him.
Randle is giving Brooklyn a second way to create
Randle's first-half passing in Washington was the most revealing part of Brooklyn's performance. He had nine assists before the break, according to the game's reporting, and the Nets put up 73 points in those opening 24 minutes. That production is not just about a veteran forward finding open teammates. It suggests the offense can begin possessions through a different kind of creator, one who draws help with his strength and can pass out of the pressure he attracts.
For a young roster, that is a meaningful change. A guard-only creation model can become predictable: pressure the ball, deny the first action and force a developing handler to make the next read under stress. Randle offers a different starting point. He can receive the ball at the elbow, punish a smaller defender on a switch, or turn toward the middle and make a defense commit before moving it to a shooter. The value is greatest when the next pass arrives before the defense resets.
Brooklyn also has to distinguish good Randle playmaking from possessions that merely end with a Randle pass. The encouraging version is quick: a paint touch, a rotation, a decision. The less useful version is a slow isolation that leaves the recipient only a few seconds to work. In Washington, the ball moved well enough to give the Nets a genuinely efficient first half. Sustaining that pace when opponents scout the actions is the next challenge.
Randle is not being asked to stop scoring. His gravity as a scoring threat is what makes the passes matter. But if his best early contribution is organizing the offense and simplifying the reads for younger teammates, Brooklyn may have found a role that serves both the present and its longer-term development. The rookie guards can learn the spacing and timing of a productive possession without being responsible for inventing every one of them.
Porter's return shows why the spacing can be dangerous
Michael Porter Jr. returned after missing the previous exhibition with wrist soreness and immediately gave Brooklyn a dependable finishing option. He scored 22 points against Washington, while the Nets finished at 56.8 percent from the field, made 17 three-pointers and scored 40 points in the paint. Those figures describe an offense that did not have to choose between perimeter shooting and attacking the basket.
Porter's appeal in this construction is straightforward. He does not need to dominate the ball to be dangerous. A defender who stays glued to him cannot provide as much help against Randle or a guard turning the corner. A defender who shades toward the paint risks conceding a catch-and-shoot look to a tall, quick-release scorer. The threat of that shot can make the next drive easier even when Porter never touches the ball.
The frontcourt has also begun to show useful variety. Day'Ron Sharpe made an early three against Washington, an encouraging sign for a player whose value has traditionally been more closely associated with interior work. Noah Clowney finished with 15 points and hit four threes, giving Brooklyn another big who can punish a defense that collapses too aggressively. Neither one night nor a preseason percentage should be treated as a new career baseline. The important point is that defenders must at least account for those attempts.
There is a practical consequence for coach Jordi Fernández. A lineup with Randle as a passing hub and Porter as an off-ball scoring threat can surround the younger guards with decisions that are easier to read. That is more valuable than simply asking a rookie to beat a defender in isolation. The Nets can teach their guards to recognize the second advantage: the weak-side cut after the first drive, the open corner when the big helps, or the early swing before a closeout arrives.
Brooklyn still needs to see this against regular-season rotations, sustained physical pressure and opponents who have prepared for the same actions. For now, the preseason is showing why the veteran additions and returning shooters can make a rebuilding team more coherent without demanding that its prospects become stars overnight.
The turnovers and defensive gaps are not preseason trivia
The same game that showcased Brooklyn's offensive possibilities also exposed the reasons for caution. The Nets gave the ball away 18 times, including 10 after halftime. Washington briefly moved ahead during the third quarter, and the first half had the feel of an exchange of baskets rather than a team imposing defensive control. Brooklyn can celebrate the 3–0 start while admitting that the underlying possession battle still needs work.
Turnovers matter differently for a young team that wants to run. A live-ball mistake can erase a good shot opportunity and hand an opponent a transition chance before the defense has organized itself. When that happens repeatedly, the Nets are forced to spend extra energy recovering instead of using their athletic guards to attack in space. A fast offense that does not protect the ball can become a fast route to giving up easy points.
The interior defense also deserves scrutiny. Washington found success near the basket early, even with Sharpe available, and the Nets were beaten on the offensive glass in the opening stretch. A possession does not end with a contested shot; it ends with a rebound. If Brooklyn gives opponents extra attempts, the benefit of its own efficient shooting can disappear quickly against better teams.
Nolan Traoré's bench burst illustrates both sides of the developmental equation. He scored 13 points in his first 10 minutes, hitting two threes and bringing pace to the second unit. That is the kind of spark that can change a quarter. Yet the staff still needs the guards to control the game when a burst of scoring is not available. Egor Dëmin had a difficult shooting night, and a roster built around multiple developing ball handlers will have uneven stretches.
That is not an argument for slowing every possession. It is an argument for better choices within the same pace: sharper spacing on drives, simpler outlet passes, earlier help communication and a commitment to finishing defensive possessions. The best version of Brooklyn will not be the one that scores 130 in every exhibition. It will be the one that can survive the nights when the shots do not fall.
Mikel Brown's return is the next real rotation test
Brown is expected to get his first preseason minutes against Miami on Wednesday, October 14, after a left ankle sprain interrupted the start of training camp. He progressed from limited work to full practices and five-on-five activity, and the plan is to bring him back with a minutes restriction. That is a sensible way to handle a 20-year-old whose long-term value is far greater than the result of one October exhibition.
Brooklyn drafted Brown sixth overall because of the blend of scoring and playmaking he showed at Louisville. He averaged 18.2 points and 4.7 assists in 21 college games, and his 45-point performance against NC State demonstrated how explosive his offense can become when his pull-up shooting is working. His upside is real, but so is the adjustment from controlling college possessions to sharing an NBA floor with established creators and defenders who can punish loose decisions.
The first evaluation should therefore be about reads, not a point total. Can Brown use a screen without dribbling into traffic? Does he recognize when Randle has already created an advantage? Can he attack a closeout and find Porter on the next pass? Those actions will reveal more about his immediate fit than whether his first three jumpers go in.
His return also changes the guard rotation. Dëmin has had opportunities to run the offense while Brown was unavailable, and Traoré has made a case for meaningful bench minutes with his speed. Adding another high-upside handler gives Fernández options, but it also requires clearer roles. One guard may initiate while another spaces the floor; another may lead the second unit. The combinations should be judged on how the team functions, not on which prospect gets the loudest highlight.
There is a tempting story in which Brown arrives, Brooklyn keeps winning and the rebuild instantly accelerates. A more useful standard is whether the rookie makes the passing, spacing and defensive habits visible during this unbeaten stretch easier to sustain. The Nets have already shown that they can move the ball and score without him. His first minutes should be the beginning of learning how much more flexible that offense can become with him, not a demand that he rescue it.
Three preseason wins do not erase the work Brooklyn still has to do. The defense must become more reliable, the turnovers have to fall and the young guards need to prove they can make good decisions when opponents turn up the pressure. But the early signs are more substantive than the record alone: Randle is creating advantages, Porter is converting them, and the second unit has shown genuine energy.
Brown's expected debut in Miami is the next useful checkpoint. A cautious minutes limit will not tell the whole story of his rookie season, but it can show how naturally he fits alongside the veterans and the other developing guards. If Brooklyn can keep the ball moving while adding another creator, its promising preseason offense might become something that survives beyond October.
