Nets' Dennis Smith Jr. sidelined versus 76ers with back injury
Nets guard Dennis Smith Jr. shoots against the Magic during the second half of an NBA in-season tournament game at Barclays Center on Tuesday. Credit: AP/Peter K. Afriyie
Another game, another dose of the injury blues for the Nets.
Dennis Smith Jr. missed his second game of the season on Sunday with a sprained back. He practiced Saturday but told the coaches and training staff that he wasn’t feeling right.
“He got some treatment that night and tried to come in and we assessed him this morning,” Jacque Vaughn said. “Tried to go through a little bit of vitamins to see if he could play.”
“Vitamins’’ are a term for warm-up drills in practice.
Vaughn didn’t say if it could be a long-term issue for Smith, who missed a game earlier this season with a hip injury after landing hard while attempting a shot.
Vaughn also wasn’t sure if Smith was hurt in Thursday’s loss to the Heat or if something flared up at practice.
Thomas update
Cam Thomas is continuing to progress from his sprained ankle as the Nets remain on target to provide an update on his health this week.
Thomas was wearing a walking boot as recently as Tuesday when he spoke to reporters. Vaughn said Thomas’ challenge is to stay in shape as he recovers.
Nets support Bridges
Vaughn and Lonnie Walker IV were in Philadelphia on Friday as Mikal Bridges had his jersey retired by Villanova.
Vaughn said he loved how Bridges used the moment to celebrate his teammates and coaches.
“Sometimes we just gloss over [accomplishments] like they’re easy,’’ Vaughn said, “but I think if you take time and acknowledge it and the gratitude behind it, it puts things in perspective, but also humanizes us and appreciate each other.”
Leftover layups
Cam Johnson spent time on Saturday at Marcy Houses donating food boxes to families and people in need. The boxes consisted of low-sugar and low-fat products to help encourage healthy eating. The event, done in partnership with the Nets, Liberty and the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), also provided free health screenings and distributed exercise equipment along with access to online HSS classes for health treatment.
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
