Patty Mills’ role with Nets is even more important after Joe Harris news

The Brooklyn Nets will be without the franchise’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made for at least another month. After injuring his ankle against Oklahoma City on Nov. 14, Joe Harris underwent surgery on Monday and will be out for 4-8 weeks.

The Nets are 4-2 in the past six games that Harris hasn’t been in the starting lineup, and Brooklyn will have to navigate the short-term future without him. It’s a tough blow for the 30-year-old, who’s only missed 16 games in the last four seasons.

Luckily, Brooklyn snagged free agent Patty Mills in the offseason. He signed with the expectation that he’d be the Nets’ sixth man, but he’s started in place of Harris. Mills is shooting 47.8% from the 3-point line and is averaging 12.2 points per game.

Harris wasn’t off to the best of starts for Brooklyn, even though he was shooting 46.6% from long and averaging 11.3 points in 14 games. He was starting to heat up before his injury and shot 68.4% from three in the last 10 games that he played for the Nets. The question is now if Mills will be able to maintain his production from the 3-point line in Harris’ absence in his larger role.

What does Joe Harris’ injury mean for Patty Mills and the Brooklyn Nets?

This isn’t the news that Brooklyn fans were hoping for, but at least Harris won’t be out for the rest of the season. Hopefully he’ll be back on the court as soon as January.

In the meantime, the Nets need Mills to continue to shine. In the seven games that he’s started, he’s only scored in single-digits twice. He’s averaging 15.7 points and is shooting 46.9% from the 3-point line as a starter. Those are pretty solid numbers for a player who began the season as the leader of the second unit. In short order, Mills has become the offensive spark Brooklyn’s needed.

There’s no way that the Nets could’ve foreseen Mills playing as big of a role as he has this year. He’s been worth every penny of his two-year, $12 million contract.

His game hasn’t taken a huge hit, either. He did score zero points in 25 minutes in a win over New Orleans on Nov. 12, but that’s due to the fact that he only got up a season-low four shots. Since then, his game hasn’t taken a huge hit. Mills did shoot 2-of-10 from the 3-point line in Tuesday’s win over the Knicks, but based off his overall performance so far, Brooklyn shouldn’t be worried.

Once Harris is back, the Nets will need him and Mills to stay healthy. If Harris can find a hot hand, he and Mills will be dangerous from the perimeter once the playoffs roll around. Until that time gets here, Brooklyn will look to Mills to continue his high production from the 3-point line.

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