Brooklyn Nets guard Joe Harris will make his season debut Friday night against the Toronto Raptors after missing his team's season opener and final three preseason games. Harris is dealing with soreness in the same foot as his surgically repaired ankle.
“I am going to play tonight,” Harris said at shootaround Friday, via Chris Milholen. “I'm excited. I wanted to try and play the first game but just wasn't quite where I was supposed to be performing — needed just a little bit more time, but I feel good right now and I'm excited to play tonight.”
The 31-year-old played in just 14 games last season before undergoing a pair of surgeries on his ankle. Entering his seventh season with Brooklyn, Harris has emerged as one of the NBA's top floor spacers during his time with the Nets. The sharpshooter led the league in three-point shooting in 2020-21, converting at a 47.5% clip on 6.4 attempts per game, both career-highs.
With this shot, Joe Harris became the @BrooklynNets all-time leader in threes made, passing Jason Kidd! pic.twitter.com/EqrblSx8z4
— NBA (@NBA) October 28, 2021
Head coach Steve Nash has said holding Harris out was “precautionary” with the team aiming to ensure the guard doesn't suffer a major setback early in the season. Harris said Friday that Brooklyn's performance team has taken a conservative approach with the soreness in his foot.
“It's just soreness in my forefoot, a little bit of swelling, soreness, and that's it,” Harris said. “It was just conservative. I mean, I’m coming off reconstructive (ankle) surgery. I had a bunch of spurs taken off my navicular. So its just our performance team has just been a little conservative.”
The Nets were without their two best shooters in Harris and Seth Curry during the loss to New Orleans. Curry also underwent ankle surgery this offseason and has yet to be cleared. Both fill an important need as elite floor-spacers alongside non-shooters in Ben Simmons and Nic Claxton.
Brooklyn's lack of spacing against the Pelicans was evident. The Nets shot 10-of-33 from three as New Orleans packed the paint and closed off driving lanes. Harris' return should provide a major boost in that regard. The former three-point champion's ability to shoot off movement offers Brooklyn greater flexibility in what they can run offensively.
“It's obviously going to open up the floor,” Nets guard Patty Mills said of Harris' return, via Nick Friedell. “Give driving lane opportunities for our main guys. But I think just for him, I think seeing what he went through last year and being close to him, it's almost like a feel-good thing to have him back out there in a regular-season game again. I know he's been through a lot; he's handled it like an absolute champ, so hopefully he can stay healthy, we can keep him out there.”
Joe Harris went 6-of-7 from three last night.
That's it. That's the tweet. pic.twitter.com/FQB9ryaS2F
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) February 19, 2021
Friday will mark the first time since November of last season that Harris has taken the floor in a regular season game. The eight-year veteran said he is unsure how much he will play in his season debut, but is grateful for the opportunity.
“I'm more excited than anything else,” Harris said. “I'm just grateful to get back on the court. I've watched a lot of basketball in the last 11 months. And just to get up and down and compete. That's what I'm excited about.”
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