Dennis Smith Jr. will get a second opinion in a week after suffering a sprained left ankle against Maccabi. Fortunately, no ligament damage was seen.
Injuries
Dennis Smith Jr. sprained his left ankle vs. Maccabi and will be re-evaluated in a week. Luckily, there was no ligament damage. Cam Johnson is also out with a mild hamstring strain. He may begin practice this week, Jacque Vaughn told the media at Saturday’s practice at the Barc. Lonnie Walker IV (wrist) will be back Monday night.
As for Nic Claxton (sore glute) and Day’Ron Sharpe (ankle), they remain day-to-day, Vaughn said. Dariq Whitehead is still recovering from his June foot surgery and has progressed to 1-on-1 contact play. He’s said he expects to be going 5-on-5 in “a couple of weeks.”
James Harden will not play against Brooklyn as he tries to get off his third team in three years. More on that later. Furkan Korkmaz (leg) returned to practice Sunday, but he’s unlikely to play in Monday’s preseason. Nick Nurse said Sunday that Joel Embiid would play but by Monday morning, he was a late scratch.
After two games in preseason, the Nets remain a work in progress. In their first game, vs. the Los Angeles Lakers, a 129-126 loss, there were positive signs, like Ben Simmons looking like the old Ben Simmons, which was a good thing, and Cam Thomas looking like Cam Thomas anytime he gets the minutes, meaning ready for buckets, which was also a good thing.
Game 2 was hardly about basketball as the Nets and Maccabi Ra’anana dealt with the aftermath of the Hamas attacks. After another bad start by the defense — giving up 39 points in the first quarter to an Israeli second division team — the Nets toyed with Maccabi the rest of the way and came away with a 135-103 win. Simmons once again looked good, finding Mikal Bridges on four of his six 3-pointers and recording nine assists in 22 minutes. In 26 minutes of play in the first two games, Simmons has recorded 16 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds, two steals, and shot 64% from the field and 50% from the line.
On Monday night, Simmons will again be gauged against his old, pre-physical, and mental maladies. The game is against Philly after all.
Where to follow the game
The YES Network and YES App are where you need to be if you are local. You can also find the game on NBA TV if you’re out of town. We get started at Barclays Center at 7:30 p.m. ET.
