The Nets, who have already lost much of their strength, will be without Ben Simmons for Monday's game against Chicago, but are hoping to acquire Cam Johnson.
Simmons left Sunday's loss at Orlando with a knee contusion, and Johnson checked out with a left ankle injury with 18 seconds left.
“I just made some minor adjustments. When I tried to stop, I rolled over a little. It's okay. I'll do my best to prepare as much as possible. [Monday] and evaluate it. But I'm going to fight for it,'' said Johnson, who sprained his right ankle in last Monday's win at Golden State.
“It's the opposite. I'm fine because I'm still healthy,” Johnson joked.
Simmons played just 11 minutes, 39 seconds and was scoreless, but had five assists. His night was cut short by a bruised knee.
Michelle Falci/New York Post
“That was something I was dealing with before the game, so I was trying to see if I could continue with it, but it just got too big. So I made the decision,” Simmons said. said. “That's something I've been working on for the last year and a half. Yeah, we just have to keep monitoring it.”
The issue occurred while Simmons was dealing with well-publicized back issues.
“It's all connected. Just managing it, playing more minutes, my body trying to catch up,” Simmons said.
He hasn't yet been cleared to play on either end of the back-to-back, so he was always going to be sidelined in Chicago.
Nets big man Dayron Sharp is inching closer to making his season debut. He has been sidelined since camp with a left hamstring strain, but is scheduled to fly to Chicago on Monday and could finally play at some point this week.
“Well, at some point this week we will give an update. We might see him at some point this week,” coach Jordi Fernandez said. “Right now he's going through contact drills. [he’ll] Then see how he feels and then move on to the next step.
“So that's all I can say. He's doing really well. He's got great energy. His personality is great for the group. He's part of the group the whole trip. [last week] was important so you know what's going on and what it feels like to be part of the group. Now he's getting closer. So I'm looking forward to seeing you again. ”
Of course it is. The Nets were gutted 52-33 in Sunday's game, with Sharpe ranking third in the league in rebounding percentage (.199) last season, behind Andre Drummond and Jusuf Nurkic. He also ranked second behind Drummond in offensive rebound percentage (.163).
Dennis Schroder had 20 points and seven assists in his return from personal leave. Due to personal circumstances, it is unlikely that I will be able to spend any more time on this.
“We respect his privacy. We have him back and we are happy to have him here now,” Fernandez said. “Then that's all I can tell you for now.”
