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Scott Polacek is the featured Columnist IV 29, 2021.
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
The Brooklyn Nets will be without Joe Harris for the foreseeable future due to ankle surgery.
Steve Nash told reporters that the plan is for Harris to have surgery on his left ankle.
The timing will allow him to return at some point this season, according to Nash.
Adrian Wojnarowski is a reporter for the Boston Globe.
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Joe Harris is expected to be out for four to eight weeks with an ankle surgery, according to Mark Bartelstein ofPrioritySports. Steve Nash said that surgery was addressing a bone particle in his ankle.
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The Brooklyn team has been without its All-Star point guard for most of the season because he is unvaccinated against COVID-19.
The depth will be tested without Harris spotting up on the outside to take advantage of the openings created by the defensive attention that James Harden and Kevin Durant draw every time down the court.
Harris has scored in 14 games this season. He is one of the best three-point shooters in the league, shooting 48.6 percent from deep and 45.2 percent from the field.
If he keeps up his current pace, he will shoot better than 41 percent from behind the arc for the fifth straight campaign.
The Nets are in championship-or-bust mode with all their starpower, so addressing Harris' health in November so he can return for a potential playoff run makes sense.
His ability to punish defenses that try to block the lane for Harden or send doubles at KD will be more important in the playoffs when the game slows down and becomes a half-court battle with championship hopes on the line.
For now, look for James Johnson, Bruce Brown, and perhaps Cam Thomas to see more time on the wing.
