If a soul-crushing loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night wasn’t enough, the Nets are now dealing with a handful of injuries during their most important stretch of the season.
According to the team’s latest injury report, Lonnie Walker IV is questionable because of a left ankle sprain entering Tuesday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Barclays Center, the second game of a back-to-back set for Brooklyn.
Ben Simmons (left lower back nerve impingement) and Cam Thomas (right ankle/midfoot sprain) will both miss their fifth straight games against the 76ers. And Day’Ron Sharpe, who suffered a right wrist contusion in Monday’s 106-102 loss, will join them on the inactive list. Walker’s status will become clearer as we inch closer to tip off.
Without Simmons and Sharpe available, two of the larger players at interim head coach Kevin Ollie’s disposal, Brooklyn called up rookie center Noah Clowney from the G League. The 19-year-old center has averaged 4.1 points, 1.9 rebound on 61.1% shooting across seven NBA appearances this season.
Center Nic Claxton played 33 minutes against Memphis, the lowest of any starter. Clowney has averaged 16.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 blocks in 16 starts at the G League level this season.
“Just like I said with Jalen Wilson, they’re just open to learning,” Ollie said when asked about Clowney’s development recently. “They’re open to be coached. They want to be better and they’re taking it personal, their development. You know, some people don’t take it personal. Some people come and go, but they’re taking it personal, like, ‘I’m going to own this, I’m going to get better. I’m going to listen to my coaches, but I’m going to do whatever it takes for me to get better. And if that’s being in the gym all day long, that’s being in the gym all day long. We need to take it personally,’ and that’s what we want.”
Speaking to reporters ahead of Monday’s game, Ollie said Simmons is considered day-to-day and he’s “still on the court”. Simmons’ agent, Bernie Lee, took responsibility for his client’s lingering back issues in an interview with SNY’s Ian Begley.
The 27-year-old has appeared in just 15 games for the Nets this season and 57 of 179 total games since being acquired by the Nets at the 2022 trade deadline.
“We continue to try and find non-surgical options to allow Ben to move forward on a permanent basis and that is where this is my responsibility and I am [the] one to blame,” Lee said.
“When I began working with Ben, I made a commitment to him that I would do everything I could to find the right answers and specialists for him to work with [in order] to move forward from the issues he has been having. Clearly it hasn’t happened, and that’s my responsibility.”
