Nets' Cam Johnson still day-to-day for Nets with sprained ankle
Cam Johnson of the Nets tweaked his ankle after a shot against the Philadelphia 76ers at Barclays Center on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Credit: Errol Anderson
CLEVELAND — Cam Johnson remains day-to-day with a sprained right ankle as the Nets head home Monday after the first half of their six-game road trip ends in Cleveland Sunday.
Whether he’ll rejoin the team when they leave Tuesday for Orlando remains in doubt. Interim coach Kevin Ollie said Johnson had a brief on-court workout this weekend to test his ankle as he stayed in Brooklyn the last three games.
“I can't speculate if he's going to be ready to practice on Tuesday when we get back,” Ollie said pregame Sunday. “That wouldn't be right for me to speculate that, but like I say, I'm going to lean on the player, lean on our medical staff to make the right judgment.”
Sunday is the 16th game Johnson has missed this season, with 15 due to various injuries.
It’s been a challenging first full season with the Nets where Johnson played four games off the bench, his most as a reserve in two seasons. Johnson’s overall shooting (45.3%) is down from last season (47%) but he’s still close to shooting 40% on three-pointers for the third consecutive season. Currently, he’s at 39.6% on threes.
The Nets could use all the help they can get for the last 16 games after Sunday. Cam Thomas, who scored 31 points Saturday, started his second consecutive game after being out with an ankle/midfoot sprain.
Ollie was confident that when Johnson returns, he'll maintain the spark he showed scoring in double figures five of the previous six games before he was hurt last Tuesday.
“When he's out there and when he's ready to go,” said Ollie, “I expect the full Cam Johnson to come out and play his best basketball for us in this last little home stretch that we have.”
Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
