The Brooklyn Nets have been plagued by injuries early this season, with Cam Thomas, Ben Simmons, Nic Claxton, and Cam Johnson all missing extended time. Those injury woes continued Sunday, with the team ruling out guard Dennis Smith Jr. ahead of their matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Nets listed Smith as questionable with lower back soreness on Saturday's initial injury report. They downgraded him to out shortly before tip-off Sunday, changing the 25-year-old's status to a lower back sprain.

“He practiced yesterday. It wasn't a tough practice, but he reported that it just wasn't feeling right after,” head coach Jacque Vaughn said pregame. “So he got some treatment at night and tried to come in (so we could) assess him this morning. He tried to go through a little bit of warm-up and see if he could play. We're technically diagnosing (his injury) as a sprain. He will not play today.”

Dennis Smith Jr.'s Nets impact

Dennis Smith Jr, Nets

Smith signed with Brooklyn for the minimum after revitalizing his career as one of the NBA's top point-of-attack defenders with Charlotte last season. The 6-foot-3 guard ranked in the 99th percentile for defensive estimated plus-minus in 2022-23, per dunksandthrees.com.

His high-level defense has carried over to Brooklyn's backcourt early this year. Smith is allowing the second-lowest defended field goal percentage among all NBA guards (minimum 35 shots defended).

However, as in Charlotte, his offensive game has left much to be desired. He's averaging 5.8 points and 3.0 assists on 39.7 percent shooting. While Smith offers ball handling in the absence of Simmons and Thomas, his lack of an outside shot (23.6 percent from three on 1.5 attempts per game over his last three seasons) neutralizes him as a pick-and-roll and spot-up threat.

If Dennis Smith Jr. is to miss extended time, Lonnie Walker IV should be in line for added work. The 24-year-old is off to the best start to a season of his career, averaging 15.7 points per game on 51/44/77 shooting splits. Trendon Watford is another option to receive extended minutes as a ball handler off the bench.