The Nets slapped for a few seconds and found themselves shorthanded again.
Before Saturday's game against the 76ers at Barclays Center, the team announced that Cam Thomas and Cam Johnson had been ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Thomas, who had missed 13 games with a left hamstring injury, suffered a new left hamstring injury Thursday in the Nets' 113-110 win over the Bucks.
The team's leading scorer, who averaged a career-high 24.7 points per game, will be evaluated after the Nets' trip to the West Coast from Jan. 10 to 19 (six games in 10 days).
Meanwhile, Johnson suffered a sprained right ankle in the final seconds of the game against Milwaukee when he landed on the forward's foot after snagging a rebound from Noah Clowney.
Postgame X-rays were negative, but the Nets announced Johnson is expected to miss the next three games and will undergo testing before the long trip.
Injuries once again tied head coach Jordi Fernandes' hands, forcing him to go to the bench and ask for his next player.
“You're going to play a lot longer, you're going to take a lot of shots, but you're not going to be alone,” Fernandez said before tipoff. “And I think the players have a great mindset and cohesiveness and I think we're ready to fill in the gaps there. I'm looking forward to seeing you do as much. So it's a good challenge for all of us.
“There are about 10 to 11 healthy people, and the rotation could be nine to 10 people, so everyone will participate. Sometimes I'll say, “I want this person to take more photos.'' You'll never know, though, because they've all done a good job of opening up and filming. As long as I get good shots and a lot of shots, I'm happy with all of them. That’s how I’m going to do it.”
Thomas' injury remains a mystery to the Nets, as it's unclear where it came from.
His first hamstring ailment stemmed from a routine step-back shot against the Warriors on Nov. 25.
“I think it was discomfort,” Fernandez explained. “Because at some point you can tell the difference between the first half and the second half in terms of energy and efficiency. But then you also think, 'I haven't played in a while, so it probably doesn't feel as fresh,' so I don't know.” I don't know, but he did a good job coming back and getting ready to play.
“He got off to a great start in both games, Orlando, and was able to get back, so both games were very efficient in the first stint he played. And now this injury – I feel bad for him, because obviously we want CT with us, and he was doing a great job of scoring efficiently and, you know, we did. We want to have him by our side every day and we will continue to have him by our side, but not on the court. But we know he will be back soon.”
The Nets will now rely heavily on D'Angelo Russell and Ben Simmons, who have not yet been on the court at the same time, to coordinate the offense.
They replaced each other in Wednesday's game against the Raptors, with Russell scoring 22 points off the bench.
Simmons finished with two goals and six assists for an impressive minus-18 point total.
Fernandes is unsure of how he will utilize the pair in the near future.
“We're trying to do what we can with the bodies that we have right now, but there's a little bit of a limit to being creative there,” Fernandez said. “So, I'm obviously happy with them playing together and playing separately, because you always need a player who can create for the ball handler and his teammates, and they both Because I can do that. I don't know in the long term. I don't want to make it up in my head. … I look forward to them telling me how they want to play and how they want to complement each other and ultimately the rest of the group.”
