Having already dealt with lengthy injuries to Nic Claxton and Cam Johnson, the Nets will now be without top scorer Cam Thomas for at least the next two weeks.
Thomas, who has averaged 26.9 points per game after emerging as the team’s best scoring threat, suffered a sprained left ankle in Wednesday’s home win over the Clippers.
The diagnosis was confirmed by an MRI exam Thursday, and the team announced Thomas would be reevaluated in two weeks.
It’s another tough blow to a team that’s been besieged by injuries in the early part of the season, though the Nets have so far remained afloat.
They’ll head into Friday’s game in Boston at 4-4, coming off a game in which they outlasted the star-studded Clippers in L.A.’s first game with ex-Net James Harden in the lineup.
But being without Thomas for at least the next six games will be difficult to overcome.
Thomas suffered the injury when he rolled his ankle after stepping on P.J. Tucker’s foot in the third quarter of Wednesday’s win.
He’s 10th in the league in scoring and is just one game removed from a 45-point outburst against the Bucks.
In the victory over Los Angeles, the Nets got a team-high 21 points off the bench from Lonnie Walker IV.
“When [Thomas] went down, it was devastating,’’ Day’Ron Sharpe said. “But I think we just all, as a collective group, just came and stepped up. … I feel like our bench is deep, so [if] guys go down, we’ve got guys who can step in and can still contribute to help us win.”
Thomas, 22, was the team’s first-round pick in 2021 (27th overall) out of LSU, and despite showing flashes of his scoring prowess, he started just six games over his first two seasons, due in part to his struggles on defense.
He put up 40-plus points in three straight games immediately following the trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in February, but saw his playing time decrease down the stretch.
This season, Thomas already has four 30-plus point performances. Now, he’s added to an injury list that not only includes Claxton (high ankle sprain) and Johnson (strained left calf), but also Ben Simmons, who has missed two of the past three games — the first as a rest in the second game of a back-to-back and again Wednesday night with a sore left hip. He’s listed as questionable for Friday’s game.
Claxton and Johnson practiced with the Nets’ G-League team Wednesday, but the team announced Thursday that Claxton would be out again for Friday’s game, with Johnson upgraded to probable.
The Nets will be facing a Celtics team that has lost two straight after winning their first five games of the season.
In the teams’ first meeting this year on Nov. 4, Thomas led the Nets with 27 points, so they’ll have to try to replace his scoring.
With Thomas out, the Nets will no doubt look for Spencer Dinwiddie to regain his scoring touch from a year ago.
Dinwiddie averaged 16.5 points per game for the Nets after his trade from Dallas last season, but has so far put up just 10.3 ppg this season.