The Nets entered Thursday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks shorthanded, coming off a disappointing loss against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first half of a back-to-back. Four key rotation guys sat against Luka Doncic and the Mavs: Markieff Morris, Seth Curry, Joe Harris, and TJ Warren.
Joe Harris, still working his back into form while coming off ankle surgery, was withheld from Thursday’s contest due to injury management. Fortunately, this is all precautionary; the plan is to play Harris in Saturday’s home game against the Indiana Pacers.
“Yeah, Joe should play Saturday,” said Steve Nash before the start of Thursday’s game. “Right now, it’s just managing the surgery, not the most recent kind of foot soreness stuff that I think we’re hoping we’re behind or past. It’s really just trying to preserve him here early in the season where we don’t want to expose him to back-to-backs when he’s coming off a serious ankle surgery.”
There’s also some good news about the status of sharpshooter, Seth Curry, who was assigned to Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, on Thursday for practice as he works his way back from ankle surgery. The Nets, who rank 27th in the NBA in three-point shooting at just 31.5% as a team, could sorely use Curry’s expertise as a floor spacer and 43.9% career three-point percentage.
“Yeah, good. He’s getting closer,” said Nash about Curry. “So we’ll see how he feels tomorrow and evaluate then.”
T.J. Warren remains out while rehabilitating his foot and won’t be re-evaluated until November. Markieff Morris, meanwhile, missed his third-straight game due to personal reasons.
There was some skepticism about Ben Simmons’ status on Thursday, who has been seen in each of Brooklyn’s last two games holding his lower back after contact near the rim. Simmons, of course, is coming off summer back surgery and is still rounding into shape physically.
Nash, however, told the media that there was nothing out of the ordinary with Simmons’ physical status and would have no limitations against Dallas.
“I think he’s ready to go tonight,” said Nash. “I don’t think there was any lingering effects so to speak that were outside of the normal.”