The Brooklyn Nets (25-52) have just a few games left in their 2024-25 NBA season and at the moment, the team is dealing with some injuries as well. Brooklyn still has to do what it can to finish the game on the strong note while playing some of the younger players on the roster and it seems like a similar scenario will happen for Sunday's game against the Toronto Raptors.
"Day'Ron's (Sharpe) out. CJ's (Cam Johnson) out. He's still sore. That's pretty much right now what we have," Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez said after Saturday's practice in preparation for their matchup against the Raptors. Sharpe is still dealing with a right knee sprain while Johnson is nursing a lower back contusion that he picked up during the team's most recent road trip.
Sharpe has been out of action since the end of March when he first picked up his knee sprain and while Fernandez has said that Sharpe stills needs to be assessed, there hasn't been an update on his assessment from Fernandez or the Nets' medical staff. It's possible that Sharpe's season is done given that Brooklyn has just five games left in the season, including Sunday's matchup against Toronto.
Johnson has missed the last two games with his back contusion and it seems like he is still struggling with the injury after what has been a grueling season for him given the amount of injuries that he's picked up over the course of the year. With Johnson out of the rotation, the Nets could start someone like Jalen Wilson or even Maxwell Lewis if Fernandez is committed to playing some of the lesser-used guys as this season comes to a close.
Lastly, Fernandez explained that while D'Angelo Russell has not been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Raptors, he is still experiencing soreness in that right ankle that has caused him to miss some time since coming to the team via a midseason trade from the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite starting the game, Russell played just 13 minutes in Thursday's 105-90 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves due to the lingering soreness in his ankle, per Fernandez.
Jordi Fernandez said that Cam Johnson (lower back contusion) and Day'Ron Sharpe (right knee sprain) are OUT Sunday vs. the Raptors.
— Sharif Phillips-Keaton (@SharifKeaton) April 5, ...
Fernandez said that D'Angelo Russell, who's dealing with a right ankle sprain, is still feeling soreness in that ankle, but didn't rule him out.
