The Brooklyn Nets will be without a couple key players in Tuesday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, as both Brook Lopez and Reggie Evans are expected to miss out.
For Lopez this will be his third consecutive game missed with a mild right foot sprain, and for Evans he'll be missed as he deals with the flu.
"We don't know Reggie and Brook's status for Friday (against Golden State)," Nets coach Avery Johnson said after Tuesday's morning shootaround at Barclays Center.
Lopez had a precautionary MRI taken on Monday, but the results came back negative and he has since been listed as day-to-day. He sprained his foot during the third quarter on Wednesday night in a victory over the Boston Celtics and has been out since.
So far this season he's been averaging 18.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.
As concerned as he was for Lopez, Johnson was equally concerned about the loss of Evans as well.
"That's a big blow for our team. Reggie is our enforcer, rebounder and best pick-and-roll defender," Johnson said. "And not to have him in the lineup when you've got (Serge) Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins out there, we're gonna miss him, but this will give other guys a chance to play probably a little more. As a team, we're going to have to make up Reggie's rebounding production. We've got to do it collectively. It's a big challenge, but we'll have to overcome it."
The veteran is averaging 8.4 rebounds per game this season and he serves as an energetic leader coming off the bench for the second unit.
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