Caris Levert is listed as probable to return Saturday night in Brooklyn against the Toronto Raptors. LeVert has missed 24 straight games following thumb surgery.
Desperate is a strong word when using it to describe the current state of the Brooklyn Nets. We’re only four days into 2020. The Nets, at 16-17, currently sit seventh in the Eastern Conference.
But while the seventh seed would qualify for a spot in the playoffs, make no mistake about the reality of the Nets’ current situation. They’re a banged-up team desperately in need of healthy bodies.
Brooklyn has lost their last four games and dropped seven of their last 10 games.
They return home this weekend from a road trip in which they lost an overtime game to Minnesota that never should’ve went an extra five minutes. The Timberwolves won that game without arguably their two best players, Karl Anthony-Towns and Anthony Wiggins.
The Nets then began their 2020 with a 12-point loss in Dallas, Thursday night. The Mavericks were without Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr., but still had Luka Doncic. The 20-year old star is currently the NBA’s leading vote-getter for the All-Star Game.
Brooklyn has a couple of perennial All-Stars on their roster, unfortunately they’re unavailable.
Kevin Durant remains unlikely to play this season, he continues to rehab from his Achilles injury. Kyrie Irving, meanwhile, is working his way back from a shoulder impingement both him and the team understandably are being very cautious with.
Irving’s injury occurred four days after the Nets lost Caris LeVert to thumb surgery. LeVert was averaging 16.8 points per game when he went down. That was second to Irving’s team-leading 28.5 points per game. That’s a huge chunk of the team’s offensive production landing next to Durant on the injured list.
Spencer Dinwiddie has been shouldering an increased role in the offense as their starting point guard and main scoring option. Dinwiddie, as usual, as risen to the occasion and is deserving of serious consideration for the All-Star game.
But Dinwiddie can’t do everything, even though at times he makes it worth the thought because he’s so good. If the Nets are going to maintain or improve their positioning in the East standings, they need to get healthy.
That’s why the reported return of LeVert comes at such a crucial time for Brooklyn.
The fourth-year guard and forward will help with some of the workload Dinwiddie’s taken on at the point and will also help stabilize the rest of head coach Kenny Atkinson’s playing rotation.
“He’ll have to be the Swiss Army knife, Atkinson said. “It’s easy to slide him in there in many positions. When guys have been out, he’s played point guard. He’s a point guard at heart, so feels comfortable and knows all our stuff.”
Saturday night, Brooklyn will begin am important stretch where they play 10 of their next 14 games at home.
Atkinson described his team as being in a “rut” lately. LeVert’s return will provide a much-needed emotional lift for the Nets.
