Neither the Nets nor injured Cam Thomas have announced when they will return.
However, speaking publicly for the first time since injuring his hamstring, Thomas admitted he was still in the early stages of his rehabilitation.
“I'm just doing whatever the performance team is supposed to do. It's still early,” Thomas said. “I'm just doing whatever they made me do, just a little bit here and there. But it's okay.”
Thomas tore his left hamstring muscle in Wednesday's 99-90 win over Indiana against Golden State on Nov. 25 and missed his fifth straight game.
The Nets are keeping mum about the seriousness of the tension.
What is clear is that Thomas will benefit from a lighter role, with Sunday's game against the Bucks and Friday's game against Memphis the only games left until Dec. 16.
“I can't say it's a positive thing, but I'm not going to miss 15-20 games during this period, so injury-wise it's definitely not a bad thing,” Thomas said. “I want to play every game. Just being out right now sucks. But I need to rehabilitate myself the best way I can to get back on the court as soon as possible.”
Thomas claimed he wasn't concerned about being left out of ESPN's Top 25 players under 25.
“If someone is watching, they know,” Thomas said. “If you look at the numbers and what I do against all of my opponents, there is no debate or argument… As long as your colleagues know that you are one of the best players, I am I don’t really care.”
Cam Johnson (sprained left ankle) and Ben Simmons (strained left knee) both played after missing Monday's loss to the Bulls.
Johnson scored 26 points on 7-of-13 shooting from deep, making him the most net points in a game without a two-point field goal in franchise history.
“It wasn't international,” Johnson quipped.
Simmons played 21 minutes and had seven points, seven rebounds and nine assists.
Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle sprain) and Ziare Williams (knee) were out.
“[Finney-Smith] is very close and what we want him to do is do it 200 percent when he comes back and is ready to step on the court. Because the reality is he has no other way to play,” coach Jordi Fernandes said. “Even if he's not feeling well, he'll still tell me he's okay. I have to save him from himself sometimes. I want to get to the point where I don’t play.”
The Nets are expected to release an update on Williams after the weekend.
On Wednesday, Brooklyn snapped a nine-game streak with a new starting lineup, the longest streak in team history and the longest by any team this season.
The Nets have added games against Memphis on Dec. 13 at 8 p.m. and against the visiting Cavaliers on Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m.
For the first time this season, the Nets had three players with a plus/minus of +20: Dayron Sharpe +22, Shake Milton +21 and Simmons +20, all season highs.
“Analysts say don't trust plus-minus, but I only use plus-minus, so I like it,” Fernandez said. “You could tell they had a huge positive impact on the game.”
