The Nets appear to be on track to have Dorian Finney-Smith and Ben Simmons back for the first matchup of the season against the Knicks, with Finney-Smith (left ankle sprain) listed as a possibility and Simmons (left calf strain). ) was removed from the injury report. Completely ahead of Friday's game, center Nick Claxton was added and listed as questionable with lower back tightness.
Claxton opened the regular season on limited minutes due to a preseason hamstring injury and returned to the Nets' starting lineup for the past five games, but was withdrawn in Wednesday's 139-114 loss to the Celtics. played 24 minutes.
The defensive anchor, who returned to Brooklyn this offseason and signed a four-year deal to remain a mainstay since the rebuild, will likely shut down center Karl-Anthony Towns, who dropped 46 points and anchored the struggling Knicks. He will be tasked with the task. If he can play, he will go to the Bulls on Wednesday.
If not, the Nets will be forced to make adjustments as they figure out how to protect a lineup that also includes Jalen Brunson and former Brooklyn star Mikal Bridges.
Even if Claxton misses his second game of the season, the Nets will at least get Simmons back.
The paper's Brian Lewis reported Thursday that Simmons' MRI came back normal, even though Simmons' calf issue caused him to miss his first injury of the season (his remaining three missed games are back-to-back). related to rest).
Head coach Jordi Fernandez benched Simmons for the last two games on Nov. 8 and 11, in which he recorded 14 points, 20 assists, 11 rebounds and three steals.
Finney-Smith has missed the past two games with an ankle sprain, and Fernandes wants to proceed with the surgery carefully.
In the end, he wasn't ready by Wednesday, allowing former top-10 pick Ziare Williams to emerge, making his second straight start and scoring 23 points.
Things may change in two days.
And if Claxton is sidelined with another injury, the Nets will need Finney-Smith on defense.
“I want him to be 200 percent and ready to go,” Fernandez said of Finney-Smith on Wednesday. “That's why he doesn't play. Whenever he's ready to give me his all, I want him. … And whenever he comes back, he gives his all. I'm going to give it to you. There's no need to rush.”
The Nets have unveiled their City Edition uniforms for the 2024-25 season, the second year of their partnership with KAWS, the professional name of Brooklyn-based artist Brian Donnelly, starting Dec. 1 against the Magic. announced that he would wear it in 12 games against the Magic. The match against the Pacers will follow three days later.
Perhaps the most notable change from last year's version is that “Nets” on the front of the jersey is replaced with “Brooklyn,” and those letters are accented with colors of red, light blue, and dark blue, making the jersey The feature is that the design has different colors. gray.
Brooklyn will also wear the City Edition jersey on December 21st and 27th, January 8th, February 10th, 12th, 26th, 28th, and April 3rd, 6th, and 11th.
