Nic Claxton to miss Brooklyn Nets’ preseason opener with hamstring soreness
Photo by Michelle Farsi/Getty Images
Injury updates and another installment of the Ben Simmons Watch concludes Brooklyn’s first week of training camp practice The Brooklyn Nets’ final media availability before boarding their Friday flight to San Diego — where they will tip off the preseason against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday — was the shortest, but it also contained the first real news of the season. Hopefully, it wasn’t a harbinger of things to come.
Head Coach Jordi Fernández told reporters that starting center Nic Claxton will miss Tuesday's action with hamstring soreness. Though he clarified that this is a “precautionary” measure and Brooklyn isn’t too worried, Claxton did also miss Thursday’s 36-minute scrimmage.
Hamstrings have been a common issue around NBA training camps thus far. Robert Williams III of the Portland Trail Blazers and Trey Murphy of the New Orleans Pelicans have recently been ruled out for multiple weeks with strains. Though Claxton’s ailment is, thankfully, just soreness, it’s no surprise Fernández & Co. are exercising caution above all.
Unfortunately, there are a couple of other hamstrings acting up: Trendon Watford and Day’Ron Sharpe are also being evaluated, though no concrete updates have been given there.
Speaking of injuries, or lack thereof, Ben Simmons spoke at Friday’s practice. Reader, if you are tired of this training camp’s edition of #SimmonsWatch, I suggest you scroll to the end of this article.
The 6’10” former All-Star spoke openly about his physical shape, and the below screenshot, courtesy of Newsday’s Evan Barnes, contains all the answers about his back and how it’s coming along...
This is consistent with the messaging we’ve heard from Simmons — and his employer — over the past month. Now all that’s left to do is to get out and show it.
Admittedly, there is a different pressure on Simmons to get out and perform in 2024-25. Frankly, it’s far less of a pressure than when he arrived in Brooklyn and was expected to be the third, table-setting banana on a championship contender.
He recognizes this: “Of course, it’s a different vibe. There’s an expectation of a championship when you got guys like (Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving) on the court. Unfortunately, I wasn’t healthy enough to be out there with those guys, but this is what it is now. Guys want to get better and compete, and I think that’s just got to be the mentality, regardless of what the situation is.”
In order to compete at the highest level, Simmons will not only have to take some more free-throws this season, but make them as well. If the first week of training camp is any indication, it’s a work in progress...
The Nets are running a free-throw competition at the end of every practice.It’s unclear how points work, but it followed a golf scoring system. The “BKN Tour.” ⛳️ pic.twitter.com/w6OTXT8Lbg— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) October 4, 2024
(This style of free-throw game almost certainly goes something like: swishes are birdies, misses are bogeys, non-swish makes are pars. Something like, I said.)
Dorian Finney-Smith appears to have notched a wire-to-wire win in the competition, as he was also leading the pack after Wednesday’s practice.
After which he said, with a big ol’ smile: “I’m trying to shoot techs this year.”
So ends Brooklyn’s first week of practice. We are back in the swing of things, but running out of discussion topics without real basketball having been played yet. Luckily, that changes on Tuesday.
Nic Claxton to rest sore hamstring for Nets’ preseason opener vs. Clippers - Bridget Reilly - New York Post
Nets’ Ben Simmons has impressed four days into camp ($) - Evan Barnes - Newsday
Nets Notebook: Nic Claxton ruled out for preseason opener, Ben Simmons’ mindset ($) - C.J. Holmes - New York Daily News
Nets’ Nic Claxton to miss preseason opener vs. Clippers - Erik Slater - Clutch Points
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