The Nets can’t catch a break. They suffered their seventh straight loss on Monday, and to worsen issues, there’s a very good probability they only misplaced one in all their prime younger forwards for an prolonged stretch.
The Kings had been paced by De’Aaron Fox of their 110-96 triumph at Barclays Heart. They shot 54.9% from the sphere and transformed 18 Nets turnovers into 23 factors. Brooklyn fell to 14-33 this season, however improved to fifth within the lottery standings, simply proportion factors behind the Charlotte Hornets for fourth and solely two video games behind the Utah Jazz for second.
“Our decision making offensively, [they] punished our defense, and that’s how we lost the game,” head coach Jordi Fernandez mentioned.
Noah Clowney turned his ankle whereas contesting a shot on the rim within the second quarter. The damage appeared pretty extreme, and the 20-year-old needed to be helped off the courtroom with help from group trainers.
Clowney missed seven straight video games earlier within the season with a sprain in the identical ankle. He exited Monday’s matchup with six factors and one rebound in 12 minutes after averaging 10 factors, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks over his final 5 appearances getting into the evening.
Johnson, who’s averaged a career-high 19.4 factors per sport this season in Brooklyn, has missed three straight video games due to a proper ankle sprain and has missed 10 of the group’s final 13 video games total. Fernandez mentioned Johnson shall be re-evaluated subsequent week, which implies he’ll miss Wednesday and Friday’s highway matchups towards the Charlotte and Houston Rockets on the very least.
The earliest Johnson might return is subsequent Tuesday towards Houston at house. At that time, the Nets may have simply two video games earlier than the Feb. 6 commerce deadline — and Johnson stays one of many prime commerce targets across the league.
“Obviously we want him to get that ankle right, he was good when he came back, it’s just, he tweaked it again. Twice,” Fernandez mentioned. “And again, it’s unlucky, but we just want to make sure that now it’s strong enough that he’ll be able to play through things and he’s 100 percent.”
The Nets have performed with out Thomas, their main scorer at 24.7 factors per sport, since Jan. 2. He has been working by means of on-court, non-contact drills in current weeks, however will bear scans on his hamstring on Wednesday. Brooklyn will present a timetable on his return as soon as his testing is full.
“He’s been working, doing a great job, and that’s the next step he will take,” Fernandez mentioned.
Nevertheless, Watford might return from his hamstring damage as quickly as Wednesday or Saturday. The 24-year-old hasn’t performed since a 130-101 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Dec. 16. He’s averaged 8.3 factors, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 13 video games this season.
“He looks great,” Fernandez mentioned. “He’s been working hard, and we’ll see him this week. I cannot tell you exactly what game, but we’ll see him back. So, we’re excited for the group, and I’m happy for him.”
Ben Simmons has missed 5 straight video games due to discomfort in his decrease again. He was imagined to play in Saturday’s 106-97 loss to the Miami Warmth however was a late scratch. The 6-10 guard is taken into account day-to-day and there’s no concrete timetable for when he’ll return.
“We’ve done our job, try to make sure everything was looking good,” Fernandez mentioned. “He’s got discomfort. He’ll be out, and then he’ll be back… We’ll make sure that we do our best for him to feel better and be part of the group.”
