The Brooklyn Nets have had a year full of stops and starts with regards to key absences from their roster. On Thursday, they saw some good news in the form of Kevin Durant’s return to the lineup after more than a month of being sidelined with a knee sprain, but unfortunately the injury news wasn’t all good for the Nets.
Sharpshooter Joe Harris has missed much of this season with an ankle injury and his timetable for a return had been pushed back recently with the prospect of season-ending surgery looming if things didn’t improve. Prior to facing the Heat on Thursday night, Nets GM Sean Marks made it official that Harris would indeed have that second surgery and miss the remainder of the season.
Breaking: Joe Harris out for the remainder of the season pic.twitter.com/1nsAPeWZcy
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) March 4, 2022
While Brooklyn did get some insurance for Harris’ absence in the James Harden trade in the form of Seth Curry, Harris’ absence is still a significant one. Having shooters around their stars, particularly whenever Ben Simmons is able to make his Nets debut, is critical to their success and losing one of the league’s most reliable three-point shooters is a significant blow for this team. They’ll continue to lean on Curry and Patty Mills to provide that spacing, and will move forward knowing they’ll have to fill that void without Harris for the remainder of this season.
