Nets' Seth Curry, Joe Harris available to play off bench
Brooklyn Nets guard Seth Curry warms up before an NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers at Barclays Center on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Nets made significant strides toward a fully healthy team Saturday. Seth Curry and Joe Harris were available off the bench against the Pacers — something that should help their dire three-point shooting situation.
Curry (ankle), a game-time decision, was available to play for the first time this season, though he said he still felt discomfort in his ankle. “It’s getting better,” he said. “Slowly getting better and better — just working through all the steps to get back on the court and not only get my ankle right but get my overall game in the proper shape to be able to play at the level I need to be at. Like I said, hopefully I’m feeling good and I can get out there and get back to competing and help the team.”
Harris sat out Thursday as he continues to manage his surgically repaired ankle, but coach Steve Nash said he hopes the shooting guard eventually can do back-to-backs.
“It’s hard to put an estimate on, all right, when the ankle and the foot is going to be back to 100%,” Harris said at the morning shootaround. “I didn’t play in an NBA game for 11 months . . . In the beginning of the season, it’s high intensity. Everybody’s kind of coming out of the gate with a lot of competitive energy. And it’s just higher-intensity games. And it’s going to take a little bit of time to kind of get acclimated.”
The Nets are 22nd in the league in three-point attempts and 26th in three-pointers made, and it hasn’t been because they haven’t gotten good looks, said Harris, who had a 47.5% three-point percentage in 2020, his last full season.
“I think the offense is actually in a good place where, when we move the ball and we play with pace and we get a lot of really good looks, and that’s all you can ask for right now,” Harris said. “Obviously, you want to hit those open looks, but we haven’t been as efficient, especially from the three-point line, but I think we’ve got to continue playing the way that we have been, with good pace, sharing the ball, and some of the looks that we’ve had will definitely fall.”
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
