Egor Dëmin and Mikel Brown Jr. are central to the Nets’ rebuilding efforts. However, as they prepare for their fourth game of the season, they’ve only shared four minutes on the court together.
The two had a brief moment in Cleveland last Saturday, but with Brown having rested during a back-to-back game, he has been cleared to play—although still under a minutes restriction—on Tuesday in Boston.
As the Nets head into TD Garden with a challenging winless record of 0-3, fans are hoping to see Brown join Dëmin, creating a new dynamic on the court.
That said, the team is taking a cautious approach.
Brown’s limited minutes have prevented him from starting games. When asked if he would try to get him on the floor with Dëmin within those limits, coach Jordi Fernández pointed out that such decisions depend heavily on how the game is unfolding.
“We have all this preparation, the coaches do a great job putting all these pages and film,” he said. “But then, at the end of the day, you have to react to things that are not controllable. Would I like to play them together? Yes. But if I’m only focused on that, I might not be doing what’s best for the group at that moment.”
Or even for Brown’s long-term health. The rookie had a rough start, only appearing in 19 games at Louisville and sitting out the latter half of his single season due to a back injury. A rolled ankle held him back during the preseason, and caution regarding his back injury led to his rest on Sunday.
“Correct. There’s not a new injury,” Fernández confirmed. “We’re required to say… So he’s good. He’s doing great. After this game, he’ll be ready to go.”
In their four minutes together against the Cavaliers, Brown and Dëmin managed a plus-5 rating.
Josh Minott made a notable impact during his first extended play, scoring 15 points, grabbing eight rebounds, and recording two steals in just over 21 minutes on Sunday.
Meanwhile, first-round picks from 2025—Danny Wolf, Drake Powell, and Ben Saraf—each saw their first action of the season against Indiana, while rookie Joshua Jefferson made his NBA debut and logged just under four minutes on the court.
In other news, Pacers center Ivica Zubac suffered a rolled left ankle after landing on teammate Kelly Oubre Jr.’s foot during the first quarter on Sunday, and he was seen leaving the arena using crutches.
