The Brooklyn Nets head to Atlanta on Saturday with a cleaner bill of health than they’ve had at points this season, but they’ll still be down one important piece. Egor Demin has been ruled out again as he continues to work back from a right leg bone bruise, leaving Brooklyn without a guard who was injured in the Oct. 27 overtime loss to the Boston Celtics.
Demin’s setback came after he played just 10 minutes in that 125-124 defeat, and the Nets said at the time that he would be reevaluated in one week from Oct. 29.
That timeline suggests an update could come Saturday, but for now the rookie remains sidelined. With him unavailable, Jordi Fernandez has leaned on Chaney Johnson and Terance Mann to help fill the minutes at guard.
Brooklyn’s injury list doesn’t stop there. Ben Saraf, Grant Nelson, Joshua Jefferson and Tyler Bilodeau are all out because of their G League assignments. Noah Clowney, meanwhile, is not listed after missing the second half of Wednesday’s 114-104 win over the Charlotte Hornets with right knee soreness, which points to him being available against the Hawks.
Atlanta has its own questions. Jalen Johnson, Asa Newell and Jock Landale were all ruled out for Friday’s NBA Cup game against the Washington Wizards - Johnson with an ankle issue, Newell with a toe problem and Landale with a hip injury - so their status for Saturday is uncertain.
The Nets are coming off what was easily their sharpest showing of the season, a game in which they put together 48 solid minutes against Charlotte. If they want to make it two straight, they’ll likely need another complete effort, regardless of who Atlanta has available.
In Other News...
Nets Still Waiting On Egor Demin As Backcourt Absences Pile Up
The Nets backcourt depth is getting tested again, with Egor Demin set to sit out the upcoming game against the Dallas Mavericks because of a right leg bone bruise. Brooklyn will have to keep waiting on the rookie, who remains in the evaluation process as the team works through another stretch of absences.
Mikel Brown Jr. will also be unavailable against Dallas, leaving the Nets even thinner in the guard rotation. Both players are at least in line to be in the conversation for Brooklyns next game against the New Orleans Pelicans, giving the team a possible boost after a short turnaround and a chance to regain some needed stability in the backcourt. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Rotation Faces Heat After A Loss Brooklyn Should Have Closed
For three quarters, Brooklyn looked like it had done enough to put another win in the bank, building a lead and leaning on a balanced effort from Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle. Porter finished with 25 points and nine rebounds, while Randle added 19 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in a game that, for long stretches, seemed to be trending the Nets way.
Then the closing stretch turned into the kind of loss that tends to linger in a locker room and in the film room. The 124-121 defeat to Atlanta left Brooklyn sorting through player grades and individual performances, but the bigger concern is harder to grade: how a game that was there to be closed slipped away when it mattered most. [Read more 🡒]
Julius Randle May Have Just Changed Brooklyns Late-Game Rotation
Jordi Fernndez got a useful look at something different in the fourth quarter against Charlotte, and it helped carry the Nets to a 114-104 win. Instead of leaning on the usual late-game mix, Brooklyn kept reserves Danny Wolf and Terance Mann on the floor, and the move paid off as the group helped the Nets separate in the final period.
Julius Randle still did his part with 22 points, but he also showed the kind of selflessness coaches love when a game starts tilting in the right direction. The bigger question now is whether Fernndez treats that stretch as a one-off adjustment or the start of a new closing formula, especially with Wolf and Mann making a strong case to stay in the mix when games tighten up. [Read more 🡒]