Yuta Watanabe has been one of the surprise players of the season for the Brooklyn Nets but he recently has been sidelined due to hamstring issues. Now it appears as if the Nets will be without Watanabe for at least another week as per Brian Lewis of the New York Post.

Yuta Watanabe came into training camp this season on a non-guaranteed contract and had to make the team. He started off getting minutes here and there but by the start of November he was a regular in the rotation and one of the Nets most productive players. On the season, Watanabe is averaging 8.1 points per game and shooting 60.9 percent from the field and a league-leading 57.1 percent from three-point range.

Watanabe has missed the last five games, however, and his absence leaves a void in the rotation for a Nets team that has struggled to find consistency this year. Ben Simmons had just started to play well and seemingly find his groove in the lineup but he too will be sidelined with injury.

There may be some help on the horizon though as T.J. Warren is set to return to the lineup soon. Warren has not playing since the 2020-21 season and that was only in four games as he has been recovering from a foot injury.

As it stands, the Nets currently sit at 12-11 and in eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings. If they intend to make a solid run in the standings, they will need Watanabe as well as their other injured players to return as soon as possible.