Brooklyn Nets Lead NBA in Unfavorable Stat

This season hasn't gone the way the Brooklyn Nets may have liked, as they currently sit four and a half games outside of the Play-In Tournament, with the Chicago Bulls holding on to the tenth seed in the Eastern Conference.

There are a few things that could be pointed to as reasons for the Nets' struggles, with injuries being one of the biggest culprits.

Since the start of the season, injuries have been something to have plagued Brooklyn's roster, with the likes of Bojan Bogdanvoic, who was acquired in the offseason in the trade that sent Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks, spending the entire season on the bench due to an injury to his left foot which he suffered in the playoffs last season.

The Nets would hold onto their veteran sharpshooter until mid-February, when they released him following the news that Bogdanovic would sit out for the rest of the season due to surgery on his left foot. But the Croatian wasn't the only player to join Brooklyn this season and have yet to suit up as De'Anthony Melton still hasn't recorded any game time since being involved in a trade between the Nets and Golden State Warriors.

When it comes to players who have played, there is no shortage of those who have been bitten by the injury bug, with Cam Thomas and Noah Clowney being perhaps the two biggest cases. Thomas started off the season hot, averaging 24.7 points per game on 46 percent from the field, helping the Nets take down contending teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and Sacramento Kings.

This impressive start would come to a halt in late November when the former LSU guard suffered a strain in his left hamstring, which would keep him out for nearly two months.

Upon his return from this stint, he'd make two appearances before going back to the bench for another 24 games after he suffered yet another injury to his left hamstring. Similar to Thomas, Clowney suffered an injury to his left ankle in late November during the fourth quarter of their win over the Kings, which would cause him to sit out for seven games.

But his bigger injury would come in late January, when he suffered yet another injury to that same ankle, which would see him sit out for over a month. While both Thomas and Clowney in good health and active in the Nets' loss to the Hornets earlier on in the week, their absences have been a significant part of what has made Brooklyn the leaders in a less than admirable category.

Injuries have been one of the biggest problems for the Nets this season, definitely contributing to their struggles throughout the year.

Credit: @ESPNNBA pic.twitter.com/Qah0Ah91xj
— Declan Harris (@DecIanH) March 10, 2025

According to ESPN, the Nets lead the NBA in games missed due to injuries, having accrued 318 missed games through their long list of absences, with the Hornets being the closest team to them in with 299 games.

This shouldn't be something to worry the Brooklyn faithful, but rather serve as a barometer or other metric to show how unlucky they've been this season when it comes to the injury bug.

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