WASHINGTON — After The Post reported that Mikel Brown Jr. would make his preseason debut Wednesday, the Nets rookie confirmed he’s set to finally suit up in Miami after missing the first three preseason games.
“Yeah, I feel amazing. Very exciting, because I’ve been waiting and itching to play for the longest to this point,” Brown told The Post. “So I’m glad to see that all the work is paying off and just continuing to stay on it and remain healthy.
“It’s very difficult, because you’re watching your teammates playing. You’re like, ‘I wanna be out there, I want to be playing with them.’ So to be able to finally scratch that itch and go out there and do what I do best, it means the world to me.”
The No. 6 overall pick, Brown rolled his left ankle three weeks ago in practice.
After missing wins over the Hornets and 76ers, Brown had been cleared to practice over the weekend. He went 5-on-5 before sitting out Monday’s win in Washington.
Now, the Orlando native is finally slated to debut in his home state.
“I’ve been attacking it every single day,” Brown told The Post. “Just to be able to go out there and play basketball again, it’s going to mean the world — especially back in Florida for me. I’m basically back home, so I’m going to enjoy it.”
Brown will be on a minutes limit, but the Nets have rotated their players through the preseason anyway.
Brooklyn will open the regular season on Oct. 21 at home vs. the Hornets.
The Nets improved to 3-0 in the preseason with a 131-122 win in Washington.
Michael Porter Jr. scored a game-high 22 points, but more auspicious was Julius Randle’s playmaking and Nolan Traore’s controlled play.
Randle handed out all of his game-high nine assists in a first-half playmaking clinic.
“His ability to throw the ball on time on target to his teammates, it’s unbelievable. Nine assists in one half, not many players can do it… I think the only one I’ve seen is Nikola [Jokic],” said head coach Jordi Fernández.
“[Fernández] is just using me in a lot of different ways, diversifying the way I can attack the defense, just getting more and more comfortable,” Randle said. “Once I get the hang of it and understand my reads and angles and how I want to attack it and just understand everything and what I like, it’s only going to continue to get better.”
Traore put his speed to use, touching the paint and shooting 6-for-8 overall, 2-for-4 from deep.
“Offensively he was elite. He touches the paint almost whenever he wants, and he’s been efficient,” Fernández said. “Just want to challenge him to improve defensively… but I know he’s tough and up for the challenge.”
A Nets team that struggled to force turnovers last season is third so far this preseason, and the team has consistently turned them into fast break points.
