Nets Roll Out Chaotic New Starting Five for Sunday Clash With Pacers
The Brooklyn Nets are starting Egor Demin, Keon Ellis, Michael Porter Jr., Julius Randle, and Day'Ron Sharpe against the Pacers, blending veteran scorers with wild-card youth.
HotTakes Editorial TeamUpdated 1 min read
Finding live odds…

The Brooklyn Nets are officially rolling out a starting five on Sunday that looks like it was assembled by a random number generator, and honestly, it might just be chaotic enough to work.
According to Underdog NBA, Brooklyn is handing the keys to Egor Demin, Keon Ellis, Michael Porter Jr., Julius Randle, and Day'Ron Sharpe for their weekend clash against the Indiana Pacers.
"Underdog NBA tweeted: 'Lineup alert: Nets will start Demin, Ellis, Porter Jr., Randle, Sharpe on Sunday.'"
If you told a Nets fan three years ago that this would be their starting lineup, they would have assumed the front office lost a high-stakes poker game. Instead, this is just the reality of the new Brooklyn era, blending established bucket-getters with wild-card youth.
Julius Randle and Michael Porter Jr. are the obvious offensive engines here. Randle is already treating his new borough like an all-you-can-eat buffet, dropping 33 points in his Nets debut and following it up with 23 points, six boards, and five assists in a tight 125-121 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday. Porter Jr. is right there with him, hanging 26 points in the season opener against the Charlotte Hornets.
But the real sicko watch is Egor Demin. The Russian rookie is currently treating the NBA three-point line like a casual suggestion. He recently caught fire for 23 points while knocking down seven threes, proving he has absolutely zero fear of the bright lights.
For anyone firing up fantasy apps or staring at Sunday player props, this rotation is a fascinating puzzle of usage rates. Randle and Porter Jr. are guaranteed to dominate the shot clock, while Sharpe is basically out there to clean up the glass and set screens until he passes out.
Brooklyn is still hunting for their first win after dropping those opening matchups to Charlotte and Cleveland. Sunday night against Indiana is their next chance to prove this weird basketball experiment can actually translate to the win column before they have to pack up and head to Boston to face the Celtics on Tuesday.
Key stats
Julius Randle scored 33 points in his Nets debut and 23 points against the Cavaliers.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 26 points in the season opener.
Egor Demin recently scored 23 points, hitting 7 three-pointers.
What's next
The Nets will look for their first win of the season against the Pacers on Sunday before heading to Boston to face the Celtics on Tuesday.

Key stats



