USA Today
Nets Joe Harris Available Against Toronto Raptors
Joe Harris will play against the Toronto Raptors on Friday night. The sharpshooter confirmed he’ll make his season debut at shootaround Friday morning in Industry City. Shortly after, the team confirmed he’s available.
“I am gonna play tonight,” Harris said. “I'm excited. I wanted to try and play in the first game but just wasn't quite where I was supposed to be. I needed like you know just a little bit more time but I feel good right now and I'm excited to play tonight.”
The wing, who was dealing with foot soreness, is not sure what his minutes load will be against the Raptors. He’ll likely be on a minutes restriction considering he has only one preseason game under his belt.
Harris disclosed that after the Nets first preseason contest, his foot flared up resulting in the soreness. He added he didn’t take anything to cure the soreness. Instead, time patched the soreness and the performance staff was conservative with the injury.
“It's just, you know, soreness in in my forefoot, a little bit of swelling soreness, and that's it,” said Harris describing the soreness.
"A little bit of swelling; soreness, that's it. It was just conservative,” Harris added. “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."
Although Harris is cleared to play against the Raptors, he and the Nets will keep a careful eye on his foot going forward.
“It’s just being a little bit more consistent and deliberate with your approach in terms of managing your body, making sure that you're ready to play,” Harris stated. “Our performance staff is very thorough with everything that we do. They're also cautious especially for the guys that are coming up. You know, as much as I want to rush back, you got to make sure that your body is feeling right. You don't want to be starting in a lower spot trying to build your way up throughout the season. It's better for me to start in a good spot now and then hopefully deal with whatever we got to deal with later on.”
The longest-tenured Net went through a lot last season battling his ankle troubles. After nearing an end to his first ankle surgery rehab, Harris suffered a setback requiring him to undergo a second operation - ankle reconstructive surgery - on March 21. He was limited to only 14 games played during the 2021-22 season.
“Just for him, seeing what he went through last year, and being close with him, it’s a feel good thing just to have him back out there in a regular season game again,” said Patty Mills at Nets shootaround Friday morning. “I know he’s been through a lot. He’s handled like an absolute champ. So hopefully he can stay healthy and we can keep him out there. If anything, it’s a feel good moment for me to see him back out there.”
Harris will play in a meaningful NBA game for the first time since November 14, 2021. Heading into Friday night’s contest, Harris is excited and feels little nerves going into it.
“Yeah, but I'm more excited than anything else,” Harris said. “I'm just grateful to get back on the court. You know, I've watched a lot of basketball in the last 11 months. And just to get up and down compete. That's what I'm excited about.”
