ORLANDO, Fla. — The minute the Nets traded Dennis Schroder away, point guard was going to be a problem.
Or at least a potential one.
Shake Milton is out to prove he can be part of the solution.
Schroder had been not only Brooklyn’s emotional leader and ball pressure pest, but their floor general.
Ben Simmons inherited the latter role, but — after having all or most of his prior three seasons wiped out by back woes — injuries and missed games are just a foregone conclusion.
He still isn’t playing both ends of back-to-backs, and missed Friday’s loss to San Antonio.
Keon Johnson is an off-guard tasked with being a perimeter defender.
Newly acquired two-way Reece Beekman hasn’t been able to get on the floor for more than mop-up cameos.
And ball-dominant leading scorer Cam Thomas is still hurt.
But with Simmons out, Milton got his first Nets start and responded with 16 points, a season-high 12 assists and just a single turnover in 34 minutes against San Antonio.
It was a performance that suggests whenever Simmons comes off the floor, Milton should be the one coach Jordi Fernandez trusts with the ball — starting with Sunday’s game against the Magic.
“He was good,” Fernandez said of Milton. “And then you look at his line with 5-for-9, 16 points, 12 assists. So, you know, pretty 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 career double-double, and first since April 2023 with Philadelphia.
More importantly, after having just his second 20-point performance of the season on Thursday night in Milwaukee, Milton followed it up with the second most assists ever by a Net in their first start with the team.
The only player who surpassed his 12? James Harden with his 14 on Jan. 16, 2021, against 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 said. “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 completely new to Milton, but playing the point for extended stretches isn’t something he’s done a lot of lately.
Milton didn’t play the point at all for the Knicks last season, per Cleaning the Glass, and did so for just six percent of his minutes in Detroit.
But he’s been on the ball for 53 percent of his Brooklyn possessions. And his recent play suggests when Simmons sits — or is out altogether — he could be the backup Brooklyn needs.
“I think that’s the name of the game,” Milton said. “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 Net Rating when Simmons is on the floor but sees that crater to minus-16.7 whenever he sits.
He has to rest sometimes, and frankly Simmons missing games is a foregone conclusion.
They’ve struggled to find backup point guard play, but Milton is settling into the role.