Getty Kyrie Irving, James Harden, and Bruce Brown react to a foul call.
The Brooklyn Nets suffered a defeat at the hands of the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks in the opening night of the NBA season.
It’s going to be an interesting season as the Nets look to navigate through life without the services of their star point guard Kyrie Irving.
If Game 1 is anything to go by, it indicates that James Harden will simply anchor the point guard position throughout the season, but the fix isn’t as simple as that.
Patty Mills, a new point guard signed in the offseason, chipped in 21 points off the bench and was extremely hot all game. Despite that, the Nets were still thoroughly handled.
It’s just the first game, but there was an interesting lineup decision regarding a starter from just last season. A player that is potentially poised for a breakout, Bruce Brown, found himself riding the pine until the very end of the game when coach Steve Nash emptied the bench.
Bruce Brown Barely Plays
Bruce Brown over Giannis 🔨
At first glance, this might not seem like it’s that big of a deal, but this is a player who started 37 games for the Nets last season, and that’s when Kyrie Irving was still a member of the lineup.
Without Irving, the Nets need all hands on deck to fill the void, and that’s what makes Brown’s lack of playing time even more shocking. Nash called Brown a “Swiss-Army knife” just last season while talking about how he can guard every position.
Brown is still developing his offensive game, but he’s shown flashes of what he can do, notably a dunk over Giannis Antetokounmpo in the Eastern Conference Finals. Brown wouldn’t be expected to chip in a whole lot offensively with the likes of the James Harden, Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin in the lineup. Brown can provide a lot on the defensive end, so this benching might not end up being a permanent thing.
Nets Use a Lot of Lineups
Getty
The Nets used the second most starting lineups in the NBA last season, and while a lot of that might have been because of injuries, it does show that the team is willing to change things up when they aren’t working.
It’s just the first game of the season, so Bruce Brown will still have plenty of opportunities to prove himself, and this might have simply been an example of Nash knowing what he has in Brown so he wanted to give some of the other players a look.
Near the end of his Pistons tenure, coach Dwane Casey was experimenting a bit more with Brown at the point guard position, so if he’s able to continue that sort of development, he might find himself starting in the place of Kyrie. So far, he hasn’t proven he’s worth of running an offense like that
He will be a free agent once the season ends and he might be looking for a pay raise in the offseason. He won’t be able to get one if he doesn’t play this season, so he’ll be looking to capitalize on the minutes he does get, whether that’s in garbage time or during parts of the game that matter.
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Brooklyn Nets ‘Swiss Army Knife’ Struggles to Find Minutes in Loss to Bucks