Brooklyn Nets: 3 things to watch in visit to Washington

3. More trust in Faried being shown?

When Kenneth Faried entered Wednesday’s game for the Brooklyn Nets against the Miami Heat with 5:28 remaining in the third quarter, it was a significant moment for the eighth-year big man.

For the first time since joining the Nets in a trade from the Denver Nuggets in July, Faried entered a game before it was out of reach late in the fourth quarter.

Faried played the remainder of the third quarter before being removed and then got three minutes at the end of the game when the outcome had been decided. He played 8:32 in all, his longest stint as a Net, and finished with five points and a rebound on 2-of-4 shooting.

He had seen action in just five of Brooklyn’s first 14 games, scoring 16 points with 12 rebounds in 26 minutes.

Faried has mostly played as the Nets’ third (or fourth or fifth) center when he’s gotten into games and while he’s played the 4 most of his career, he’s a slightly bigger option at 6-foot-8 and 228 pounds than Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (6-foot-7, 220 pounds) or Jared Dudley (6-foot-7, 225 pounds).

Coach Kenny Atkinson turned to Faried Wednesday before waving the white flag, the first time he had done so.

With Jarrett Allen questionable Friday and the only other center option on the roster being Ed Davis, particularly if Alan Williams — on a two-way contract — returns to the Long Island Nets for their game Friday, one has to think that Faried has to merit some longer looks at this point.

He was once a pretty good player in the NBA before the changing style of the game rendered a 4 with no outside shooting touch to be classified as the endangered species lowpostasaurus. Perhaps Faried still has some value, though, as a smallish backup to the backup center.