Getty Brooklyn's Kevin Durant is greeted by teammates Jeff Green and Nicolas Claxton after a time out in the third quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference second-round series at Barclays Center on June 07, 2021 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
After the Nets clobbered the Bucks by 39 points in Game 2 of their second-round series, Thursday’s Game 3 win by Milwaukee was a reminder to Brooklyn that nothing at this time of the year comes easy. And to that point, being as healthy as possible is as important as anything.
The Nets received some good news on that front Saturday ahead of their Game 4 showdown at Fiserv Forum on Sunday.
While James Harden has been ruled out as he continues to nurse tightness in his right hamstring, a key Nets role player had his status upgraded.
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Jeff Green Questionable for Game 4
Brooklyn forward Jeff Green has missed the entirety of the Bucks series to this point, but it appears he may be close to a return. Nets coach Steve Nash labeled Green as questionable for Game 4.
The 34-year-old Green has been out with a plantar fascia strain in his left foot, an ailment that he was dealing with even before the playoffs. He aggravated it during the second game of Brooklyn’s first-round series against the Boston Celtics and has not played since.
On Wednesday, Green described the injury as a badly sprained ankle in the bottom of your foot, per The New York Post. At the time, he had yet to return to practice.
“The whole planting and explosion is something that just comes with it,” Green said on Wednesday, per The Post. “It’s been hard to really be me [with the injury] early on when I first did it. But I played through it during the year. … So, I am able to get back out there now and obviously run, but the cutting is something that hasn’t come back yet.”
After Saturday’s news, it appears Green is trending in the right direction. And if he can suit up for Game 4, he’ll serve as a big boost for a Nets team looking to slow down Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
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Nash Not Worried About Joe Harris
In a game the Nets lost by only three points, Joe Harris’ 1-for-11 mark from 3-point range loomed large in Game 3.
It was an uncharastically inaccurate night for the league’s most accurate 3-point shooter. Harris, with his 47.5 shoooting percentage from beyond the arc this past regular season, finished just in front of Clippers forward Marcus Morris for the league lead.
“I’m not worried about Joe Harris at all,” Nash said Saturday, via Chris Milholen of Nets Daily. “If he gets the same looks, my money is on him.”
That was essentially Harris’ main takeaway from Thursday’s loss, too. Those looks were encouraging.
“There was a lot of areas to be encouraged,” Harris said after game, via SNY. “A lot of the looks that I had were actually some of the best that I’ve had the entire series in terms of just being uncontested, clean looks where I’m able to get space. So definitely one of those things where, we’re certainly frustrated. Difficult night. But it was kind of like that on both sides, to be honest. It was one of those games where the efficency sort of went out the window and it was a gritty, grind-it-out type of game. But yeah, definitely wish I would have played better. But this is where we’re at and I think there’s room to be encouraged.”
Joe Harris discusses personal positives and negatives from Game 3:
“I wish I would have played better, but this is where we’re at and I think there’s room to be encouraged”
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