The Brooklyn Nets will head into Wednesday’s matchup with Charlotte in better shape than they’ve been for much of this early season, even if the injury list still isn’t completely clean.
Brooklyn, now 1-6 after opening the 2026-27 NBA campaign 0-5 before finally beating the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, is coming off a 103-90 loss to the New York Knicks on Monday. Still, the Nets should have most of their rotation available for a game that looks far more manageable than some of the ones they’ve already played.
The one notable absence remains Egor Demin. The Nets said Tuesday that the guard is out again for Wednesday’s game because of the right leg bone bruise he picked up last week. When Brooklyn updated his status on Oct. 29, the team said he would be re-evaluated in one week.
If that timeline stays on track, Wednesday could be the final game Demin misses with this injury, since Brooklyn’s next game after Charlotte is Saturday at the Atlanta Hawks. With Demin sidelined over the past few games, Nolan Traore and Chaney Johnson have picked up more minutes in Jordi Fernandez’s rotation.
Brooklyn also announced that Drake Powell, Joshua Jefferson, Ben Saraf, Tyler Bilodeau, and Grant Nelson have been assigned to the Long Island Nets. So far this season, Fernandez has generally used a nine-man rotation for meaningful minutes, and this move appears aimed at keeping the younger players on the roster getting reps.
Charlotte’s injury report is a little friendlier. Forward Kon Knueppel, dealing with a left hamstring strain, and guard Coby White, listed with left calf injury management, are both probable. Forward Grant Williams is still out as he works back from a right hamstring strain.
That means the Hornets should bring more to worry about than they did when these teams met in the season opener.
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