Seth Curry, who had been out with a left adductor strain, played Wednesday for the first time in six games, putting the Nets at full strength for the first time since the busy trade deadline.
They are shallow in stars without Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving but deep in potential contributors, which has led to the rotation being whittled down.
Head coach Jacque Vaughn employed a 10-man rotation (which did not include Yuta Watanabe, Edmond Sumner, Day’Ron Sharpe or Patty Mills) for the Nets’ 116-105 victory over the Heat at Barclays Center.
“We’re playing 10 guys right now,” Vaughn said after the Nets won their final game before the All-Star break. “Eventually that’s going to whittle down to nine or eight as you get into the playoffs, but I think that’s the biggest thing is being able to utilize the depth.”
They went smaller against Miami, using Ben Simmons as the sixth man and backup center. Simmons rarely played with Nic Claxton as Vaughn staggered the non-shooters.
Royce O’Neale and Curry entered the rotation after Simmons, and Joe Harris subbed in before the end of the first quarter.
Cam Thomas was their 10th man and handled the ball — and the offensive load (6-for-11 shooting for 19 points) for the second group.
Sumner sat for a fourth straight game, the biggest casualty since the Nets got deeper by dealing Irving and Durant.
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Watanabe was benched after only playing in garbage time Monday during a loss to the Knicks. Mills appears to be out of the rotation, while Sharpe likely will be used when the Nets want to go big.
The Nets have sought the right lineup combinations with a mishmash of a roster that is lean on stars and creators and heavy on shooters, defense and arm length.
“The iso-ball is probably not a space in a world we can live in like we used to,” Vaughn said after Irving and Durant were traded. “And so: Can we be more of a team that drives and kicks? And really wants to play with multiple efforts on the offensive end of the floor? That’s the challenge.“And the biggest challenge is it’s got to happen now.”
Claxton scored just four points on 2-for-4 shooting to go with nine rebounds.
“I wish I could tell you how much this young man has given us,” said Vaughn, who added Claxton would enjoy the break. “He is tired and he has been tired.”
Curry was active and played 9:43, but was held scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting.
“We have enough depth to not push him to a crazy amount of minutes played,” Vaughn said of Curry, whom he cited as a possible backup point guard for a team that could use one.
