The Brooklyn Nets have had a few days off due to the unique effect that the NBA Cup has on the schedule for every team that doesn’t make the tournament. Brooklyn went into their mini-break having won three of their last four games and as they enter Friday’s game at the Dallas Mavericks, they will do so having a mostly-healthy roster for the road.
The Nets announced on Thursday that the only players who will be missing Friday’s game at the Mavericks will be guard Cam Thomas and forward Haywood Highsmith. On Dec. 6, Brooklyn relayed that Thomas had progressed in healing of his left hamstring strain and that he began on-court workouts, though those workouts didn’t involve anyone else on the floor with him.
Thomas will be out of the Nets’ lineup for at least two weeks after Dec. 6 so Brooklyn will have to continue moving forward hoping that forward Michael Porter Jr. can continue carrying the offensive scoring load. Highsmith, who has yet to appear in a game for the Nets this season, should be getting reevaluated on his knee injury sometime soon, but head coach Jordi Fernandez didn’t have any new updates on him.
“He’s been doing great. He’s an extreme pro. He’s the ultimate pro. Great example for everybody else. We’ve always said, we like how he’s progressing. We just don’t have any update, but he’s doing very well,” Fernandez said after Tuesday’s practice. With Thomas and Highsmith remaining out of action for the time being, that means more playing time for players like rookie guard Nolan Traore, who was recalled from Long Island on Thursday.
Traore has been playing well during his time in the G League this entire season, but his performance over the last five games is probably the reason that Brooklyn brought him out of Long Island. Traore is averaging 22.2 points, 7.6 assists, and 1.2 steals over his 5 G League games, meaning that he could be in line for some minutes against Cooper Flagg and the Mavericks on Friday.
