SALT LAKE CITY — The Nets appear to have erred on the side of caution regarding injured Cam Johnson and D'Angelo Russell.
As expected, both players will remain sidelined when the Nets play the Jazz on Sunday, as will Cam Thomas.
Johnson suffered a sprained right ankle in the final seconds of a Jan. 2 win at Milwaukee and will miss his fifth straight game.
The Nets have not won since he went down, losing four straight by a total of 77 points.
Russell will miss his fourth consecutive tournament due to a bruise on his right shin.
The Nets expressed at least some confidence that Johnson would play in this six-game Western Conference road swing.
However, leading scorer Thomas and Trendon Watford will be sidelined due to left hamstring strains until they return to Brooklyn.
“Cam Johnson and D-Lo are going about their day-to-day lives and it makes them look good. They're doing well and that's where we are right now,” coach Jordi Fernandez said. “Trendon is functional, but he probably won't play on this trip.”
Darik Whitehead is doubtful to play on Sunday.
The second-year wing is being treated for a concussion after taking a shot to the head in a recent G League game against Long Island.
Bojan Bogdanovic (returning from left foot injury), Maxwell Lewis (fractured left tibia) and De'Anthony Melton (torn anterior cruciate ligament in left knee) are all out, as are Thomas and Watford.
The Nets will be in Los Angeles this week, playing against the Clippers on Wednesday and the Lakers on Friday.
It presumes that the deadly wildfires ravaging the region will not cause any further disruption to the schedule.
The Palisades, Eaton and Hearst fires have already displaced around 200,000 people and killed at least 11 people.
Ziale Williams, who was born in Lancaster, Calif., and attended Sierra Canyon High School, said she was spared a personal tragedy.
“My home is safe, my family is safe,” Williams told the Post. “So it’s definitely a blessing.
“[The fires] It's spreading. There are fires on our west side and fires on our south side. LA is pretty big, so it's pretty spread out. But, fortunately, my house is safe. Some of my friends have lost their homes, but those things can be replaced. I'm so glad everyone got away safely. ”
Forward Tosan Ebubuomwan had 13 points and seven rebounds against Detroit and 10 points against the Nuggets.
He made 2 of 5 3-pointers and looked comfortable and confident for his fourth game with the Nets.
“Honestly, I feel like it's more than that. They've done a great job of making me understand everything. They've given me confidence, they've encouraged me, That’s what it is,” Ebbuomwan said. “It makes it easy for them to learn to play and things like that. They've been working pretty hard since I've been here, which has been great, for sure.”
Ebv-om-one clocked 22 minutes and 29 seconds on Friday, and Fernandes is fully satisfied with his minutes and believes the 23-year-old could improve his time even further in the near future if he continues to play this well. suggested.
