Nets set to receive significant offensive boost amid cold stretch

The Brooklyn Nets are set to receive a significant boost to their struggling offense. After missing the team's last 17 games due to a left hamstring strain, Lonnie Walker IV is expected to return to the lineup Friday vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder.

After signing for the minimum, Walker emerged as one of the NBA's top bench scorers early this season, averaging a career-high 14.6 points per game on 48.9 percent shooting from the field and 43.3 percent from three. The former first-round pick leads the league in scoring among players averaging fewer than 24 minutes per night.

Lonnie Walker IV this season:

15.5 PPG
2.3 APG
52.4% FG
43.3% from three

All while only playing 21.7 minutes per game.

I'd say Walker has to be the most productive minimum signing in the NBA and a way-too-early candidate for 6th Man of the Year. What a find by Sean Marks. pic.twitter.com/IgQO2u7HAN

— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) November 7, 2023

He is adding 9.4 points per 100 possessions to Brooklyn's offense, ranking first on the Nets and in the 94th percentile league-wide, per Cleaning The Glass. His three-level scoring ability led a Nets bench unit that ranked eighth in net rating at the time of his injury.

A rough showing for the Nets but Lonnie Walker continues to shine:

24 points
8/15 FG
6/10 from three

Back-to-back games setting a season-high and leading Brooklyn in scoring. pic.twitter.com/MTGrZzpjge

— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) November 19, 2023

Walker's return comes amid an extended cold stretch during which the Nets have lost 10 of their last 12 games. Brooklyn's offense ranks 27th during that span, scoring 109.3 points per game while posting the league's lowest effective field goal percentage (49.3). The team's only two victories during the stretch came against the Detroit Pistons, who have recorded three wins on the season.

Dennis Smith Jr. will also return to the lineup after missing Wednesday's loss against the Houston Rockets due to lower back soreness.

The Nets are expected to provide an update on point guard Ben Simmons Friday. The three-time All-Star has been sidelined for two months due to a nerve impingement in his surgically repaired back.