Dennis Smith Jr. became the latest Net to miss time when he was forced to sit out Sunday with a lower-back sprain.
Head coach Jacque Vaughn said he was unsure exactly how Smith suffered the injury and added the guard was able to practice Saturday and tried to see if he could be available Sunday before being ruled out.
Smith had been listed as questionable heading into Sunday and ended up joining Ben Simmons (back) and Cam Thomas (ankle) on the bench with injuries.
Simmons is due to be reevaluated this week as he deals with a nerve impingement in his left lower back. He’s missed the team’s last six games.
And Thomas (sprained ankle) is also due to be reevaluated.
Vaughn said Thomas, who was leading the team in scoring with 26.9 points per game when he suffered the injury, is “going through the process of getting back on the floor.”
Thomas suffered the injury when he stepped on PJ Tucker’s foot during a win over the Clippers on Nov. 8 and Vaughn knows the longer the guard is out, the longer it will take him to get back.
“He’s trying to stay in some semblance of shape, so once he is back in the fold, there’s not too much ground that he’s got to make up,” Vaughn said. “But it’s tough to stay in shape when you’re dealing with lower extremities, for sure.”
As for Simmons, the Nets are now 3-3 during this most recent stretch without the point guard.
“Since Ben has been out, we’re probably more streamlined in how our approach has been throughout the course of the game with how we want to play [and] the sets that we were in,” Vaughn said. “So we’re probably a little more confident for the entire game. But we’ll make adjustments when we get more guys back healthy. Don’t get too comfortable.”
Mikal Bridges scored just two of his 18 points after the half — and took just one shot in the second half after taking 11 in the first.
He said Philadelphia didn’t change its defensive approach towards him and the dip in production was a result of playing off the ball and not getting as many chances.
Asked if he should have been more aggressive offensively, Bridges said “for sure,’’ but added without the ball in his hands at times, it can be difficult.
Lonnie Walker IV continues to be a weapon off the bench, with a team-high 26 points on Sunday.
He hit 6 of 11 3-point attempts and the guard said he’s aware teams will begin defending him differently as his offense improves, so he’s looking to become more of a playmaker, as well.
After struggling with his shot in his first pair of games following a seven-game absence with a strained left calf, Cam Johnson entered Sunday coming off two games in which he’d hit 12 of 21 shots from the field.
But Johnson faltered again Sunday, shooting just 3-for-12.
“He’s still trying to get his rhythm,’’ Vaughn said. “I think he was playing catch-up [in his first two games back]. He’s shooting the basketball pretty well the last couple games.”
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