Dennis Smith Jr.'s left ankle sprain a cause of concern for Nets

The rain forced the Nets to move their annual “Practice in the Park” inside Barclays Center on Saturday, but it didn’t dampen the spirits of the crowd.

Fans were happy with the Nets scrimmaging, playing several contests and giving away free gear. However, they had concerns seeing guard Dennis Smith Jr. in a walking boot.

Coach Jacque Vaughn said Smith will miss at least one week after leaving Thursday’s preseason win with a sprained left ankle.

“He’s got some bone bruising so we’ll see how, a week from now, what he looks like. Luckily, I think no ligament damage, so we’ll take that,” Vaughn said.

Smith, who signed as a free agent during the summer, came down awkwardly after taking a three-pointer in the first quarter against Maccabi Ra’anana. He limped to the locker room and did not return to the game.

The timeline means Smith won’t play in the Nets’ final two preseason games, home against the 76ers on Monday and on the road against the Heat on Wednesday. It’s still to be determined if he’ll be available for the season opener on Oct. 25.

It’s also a blow for the Nets’ second unit, as Smith was starting to make an impact on defense and at point guard.

However, there was promising injury news. Lonnie Walker IV practiced Saturday after suffering a right wrist contusion caused by a screen, Vaughn said.

While Walker could play Monday, Nic Claxton (glute muscle) and Day’Ron Sharpe (sprained ankle) remain day-to-day after not playing on Thursday.

As for Cam Johnson, he could rejoin practice this week after suffering a strained left hamstring. He could miss the team’s final two preseason games as a precaution, although Vaughn said he hasn’t made a final decision yet.

“I’d rather have him available that first game against Cleveland than try to speed him along and play him in a preseason game,” Vaughn said.

With Johnson still fresh from Team USA duties for last month’s FIBA World Cup, there’s less reason to rush him back. The major concerns are not having Johnson in lineups to space the floor or seeing how he plays alongside Ben Simmons.

But the Nets’ health is more important. For now, there’s focus on the positives, such as Simmons feeling pain-free and Spencer Dinwiddie shooting 8-for-11 on three-pointers in two games.

There also was time to relax Saturday as the team ended practice with a rookie dance contest. Dariq Whitehead and Jalen Wilson took turns dancing to “Teach Me How to Dougie” while Noah Clowney impressed the veterans, grooving to “Crank That” by Soulja Boy.

“I’ve never seen him even do a two-step, so to see him try to do a dance, he won,” Dorian Finney-Smith said.

The Nets will raise their intensity in the next two games. While they hope to get healthy, they also won’t hold back with the regular season less than two weeks away.

“We for sure got to treat each game like it’s really a game because we only got two more,” Finney-Smith said. “Our first 10 games, it’s going to be rough, and we want to come out and try to steal a lot of those games.”

By Evan Barnes

evan.barnes@newsday.comevan_b

Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.