ORLANDO, Fla. — The minute the Nets traded Dennis Schroder away, level guard was going to be an issue.
Or not less than a possible one.
Shake Milton is out to show he may be a part of the answer.
Schroder had been not solely Brooklyn’s emotional chief and ball stress pest, however their flooring common.
Ben Simmons inherited the latter function, however — after having all or most of his prior three seasons worn out by again woes — accidents and missed video games are only a foregone conclusion.
He nonetheless isn’t enjoying each ends of back-to-backs, and missed Friday’s loss to San Antonio.
Keon Johnson is an off-guard tasked with being a fringe defender.
Newly acquired two-way Reece Beekman hasn’t been capable of get on the ground for greater than mop-up cameos.
And ball-dominant main scorer Cam Thomas remains to be harm.
However with Simmons out, Milton acquired his first Nets begin and responded with 16 factors, a season-high 12 assists and only a single turnover in 34 minutes in opposition to San Antonio.
It was a efficiency that means each time Simmons comes off the ground, Milton ought to be the one coach Jordi Fernandez trusts with the ball — beginning with Sunday’s recreation in opposition to the Magic.
“He was good,” Fernandez mentioned of Milton. “And then you definately have a look at his line with 5-for-9, 16 factors, 12 assists. So, , fairly good.
“Most importantly it’s 12 assists with one turnover. So, really very impressed, because he’s playing a little bit out of position. He’s more comfortable when I play him off the ball, and then I can run actions for him. I’m asking him to pick up, to bring the ball up and then to try to score and organize everybody. And so he’s doing a great job.”
It was Milton’s fourth profession double-double, and first since April 2023 with Philadelphia.
Extra importantly, after having simply his second 20-point efficiency of the season on Thursday evening in Milwaukee, Milton adopted it up with the second most assists ever by a Web of their first begin with the crew.
The one participant who surpassed his 12? James Harden together with his 14 on Jan. 16, 2021, in opposition to the Magic.
“I felt good. It’s not an easy job, doing what the team is asking you to do sometimes, like picking up 94 [feet] and then, handling the rock and trying to get guys in the right spot,” Milton mentioned. “But everybody’s unselfish. Everybody plays a role. So just try to step up and help the team however I could.”
The navigating isn’t utterly new to Milton, however enjoying the purpose for prolonged stretches isn’t one thing he’s accomplished quite a lot of these days.
Milton didn’t play the purpose in any respect for the Knicks final season, per Cleansing the Glass, and did so for simply six % of his minutes in Detroit.
However he’s been on the ball for 53 % of his Brooklyn possessions. And his current play suggests when Simmons sits — or is out altogether — he could possibly be the backup Brooklyn wants.
“I think that’s the name of the game,” Milton mentioned. “I feel comfortable playing on-ball or off the ball. I feel like I’ve done that since I got into the league, so it’s not really a thing for me, or an adjustment. And a lot of times you don’t even have to think about it, because if you’re being aggressive, then on the floor the game will tell you what you need to do, whether it’s take a shot or look to kick.”
“And a lot of times I don’t even feel like my assists where, like me necessarily creating as much as just getting off the ball when I needed to get off the ball, and teammates did a good job of knocking down shots. So it makes my job easy.”
Since Schroder’s departure, Brooklyn has a minus-1.0 Web Score when Simmons is on the ground however sees that crater to minus-16.7 each time he sits.
He has to relaxation generally, and admittedly Simmons lacking video games is a foregone conclusion.
They’ve struggled to seek out backup level guard play, however Milton is settling into the function.
