There’s good news and bad news for the Nets on their latest injury report, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post relays. Leading scorer Cam Thomas has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game in Phoenix due to left hamstring soreness. Thomas, who has also dealt with an illness and a sore back as of late, was removed in the third quarter on Monday vs. Golden State to “protect him from himself,” in the words of head coach Jordi Fernandez.
Big man Noah Clowney will join Thomas on the sidelines, having been ruled out for a second straight game due to a left ankle sprain. Brooklyn has yet to provide an update on the results of an MRI Clowney underwent on his injured ankle, Lewis notes.
A banged-up Nets team could get some reinforcements soon, however. According to Lewis, Nic Claxton (lower back soreness), Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle sprain), and Cameron Johnson (right ankle sprain) are all considered questionable to play on Wednesday. Claxton and Finney-Smith each missed Monday’s game, while Johnson exited in the first half.
Ben Simmons is also off the injury report after sitting out on Monday due to lower back injury management.
We have a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:
- Originally listed as probable due to a left calf strain, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was a late scratch vs. Miami on Tuesday due to swelling in his left knee, per Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. As Owczarski notes, Antetokounmpo had surgery on that knee during the summer of 2023.
- Grizzlies guard Ja Morant played on Monday for the first time since November 6, but he has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game vs. Detroit due to a new injury, a left knee contusion, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Morant downplayed the ailment after the game on Monday: “A little knee to knee. Everybody know I get back up every time. … Quick little stinger, get out the way and just take care of it now.”
- Wizards guard Jordan Poole missed a second straight game on Tuesday due to left hip flexor soreness, per the team (Twitter link). Poole had initially been listed as questionable, so it sounds as if the issue is a day-to-day one rather than one that will keep him sidelined for an extended period.
- In his first game back following a two-week absence due to a right ankle sprain, Lakers center Jaxson Hayes re-aggravated that same ankle injury during the final minute of Tuesday’s loss to Phoenix. He had to be helped to the locker room, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter links), who says the team plans to provide an update on Hayes on Wednesday afternoon.