Nets Still Without Top Scorer as they Face Boston Celtics

Evaluating the Nets’ injury report ahead of a game versus the Celtics.

Nov 11, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez coaches against the Toronto Raptors during the second quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

On Friday evening, the Brooklyn Nets will take on the Boston Celtics, hoping to distance itself from the bottom tier of the NBA.

So far, Brooklyn has the fourth-worst record in the league at 2-12, beating out only the Wizards, Pelicans and Pacers. It's been an interesting start for potentially repositioning NBA teams, as several more in the Mavericks, Kings and Hornets are potentially joining the fold too.

So far, an older core of Michael Porter Jr., Nicolas Claxton, Terance Mann and more hasn't been enough to secure wins, but Brooklyn has been playing better ball of late.

While the Nets are keen to position themselves for 2026 draft picks, head coach Jordi Fernandez and plenty of the front office would like to see some development, or rather wins, in the early part of the season.

At 8-7, Boston needs to win tonight to continue to climb up the East standings. They're currently the 10-seed, though they're hot on the heels of several Play-In-level teams.

As always, the injury reports for both Boston and Brooklyn are sure to play a factor in tonight's outcome. Here are the injury reports for both teams ahead of tonight’s game:

Brooklyn Nets injuries:

Haywood Highsmith — Out: Right knee

Ben Saraf — Out: Left ankle

Cam Thomas — Out: Left hamstring

Nolan Traore — Out: G League

Danny Wolf — Out: G League

Boston Celtics injuries:

Ron Harper Jr. — Out: G league

Max Shulga — Out: G League

Jayson Tatum — Out: Right achilles

Amari Wiliams — Out: G League

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The Nets’ injury report continues to be impactful, with top scorer Cam Thomas remaining out for the next handful of weeks.

Thomas suffered a hamstring injury, and his absence has been felt as Porter Jr. is now the sole veteran scorer on the team. Thomas’s scoring ability would especially help against Boston, who has numerous solid perimeter defenders.

The Nets are also without rotational contributors in rookie Ben Saraf, who’s out with an ankle injury, as well as Haywood Highsmith, who has yet to make his Nets debut.

Two rookies in Nolan Traore and Danny Wolf are listed as out on G League assignment.

The Celtics have three players out on G League assignment, in addition to superstar Jayson Tatum, whose injury obvious drastically changes the Boston roster as a whole.

The Nets and Celtics tip off at 6:30 p.m. CT from TD Garden.