It is just the beginning of the season and coach Steve Nash is working out his rotations, but many Nets fans were surprised to see Bruce Brown playing just four minutes on opening night.
This is the same player that opted not only to stay on the Nets for one more year, but the player who also was willing to play any position he was asked to play last season. It is also the same player who suited up with a broken nose before heading into the playoffs last year.
Brown was a very productive player for the Nets last season. The Boston native averaged 8.8 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 1 SPG on an efficient 56% shooting from the field. Brown takes pride in his quality shot selection, but it was primarily his defense that made him stand out.
After a pivotal Game 2 win against the Milwaukee Bucks last year in the playoffs where Brown displayed his defensive brilliance, Kevin Durant was left praising the 25-year old.
“Playing against him in the last two years, nobody really knew him in Detroit, but when you played against him and you got him in the scouting report, he kind of disrupted our flow when I was in Golden State a bit.”
"Who is this kid?"
Kevin Durant recalled a time when he was with the Warriors where Bruce Brown made an impact and "disrupted" Golden State's flow in that particular game pic.twitter.com/lST4Jwfr5d
— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) June 8, 2021
One of Brown’s flaws on the court has indeed been identified as his 3-point shooting. This offseason, however, the Boston native made sure to work on this part of his game. He even spent time with one of the best shooters of all-time in Kyle Korver, one of the new members of the player development staff, to work on his shot.
As head coach Steve Nash further experiments with new lineups, there is a chance that Brown can return to the court and have a bigger role again.
“We took a look at the big lineups, we don’t want to overreact,” said Nash following the loss to the Bucks on Tuesday. “I don’t know if it was big, small lineups, whatever. We just didn’t play well tonight … As we explore those lineups. As we critique and assess those lineups, we have to be patient.”
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