I’ve written this story three times over now. Dating back to the 20202-21 season and the formation of the Brooklyn Nets “Big Three,” it was injuries that plagued the team all season and eventually led to their demise.
For those lucky enough to forget, the Nets spend much of that campaign playing without Kevin Durant who nursed a leg injury during that regular season’s latter second half. James Harden’s hamstring grew problematic on multiple occasions after that and Kyrie Irving snapped his ankle in the playoffs.
The hospital bill inflated the season after, as Durant missed time with an MCL sprain and the newly acquired Ben Simmons never suited up for the team due to his back which he eventually had surgery on. Sprinkle in Joe Harris’s season-ending injury to begin the year and you’ve got another dandy as far as the injury report goes.
This year, it’s Seth Curry and T.J. Warren getting the “fun” started in Brooklyn though, as head coach Steve Nash recently made it known that neither player got cleared to begin training camp. He noted that their status for the season opener remains in jeopardy as well.
Steve Nash does not expect TJ Warren to be ready opening night. He says Seth Curry is a “maybe” for opening night.
— Matt Brooks (@MattBrooksNBA) September 28, 2022
After playing through an ankle injury last year, Curry underwent surgery a few months ago in early May. With Simmons unable to suit up, he was the primary return in last year’s Harden trade, shooting a crisp 46.8 percent from three while averaging 14.9 points per game.
From what Nash told us, we’ll see him before Warren, but nonetheless, he remains a question mark for the team’s opener vs the New Orleans Pelicans at this time.
As for Warren, he’s new on the Nets this year but is more than acquainted with the injury bug. The former Indiana Pacer has played just four games since the 2019-20 season. When healthy though, Warren materializes into a lethal weapon, hence why he has so many Nets fans excited for this year.
During his last healthy season, highlighted by an unreal run in the NBA bubble, Warren averaged 19.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game. He also put up clean .536/.403/.819 shooting splits.
For Curry, Warren, and the Nets, it’s better for these health-related setbacks to take place now rather than later down the line. Almost all the aforementioned injury woes the Nets dealt with during their prior two seasons came either during the playoffs or right around them, hence why they were so devastating.
Due to that, these injury updates are by no means something for Nets fans to hang their heads over. However, one can also be forgiven for feeling a bit frustrated or distressed again with the franchise carrying so much baggage in the health department already.