The Brooklyn Nets are staring at a 2-0 hole in their series against the Toronto Raptors. Following Wednesday afternoon’s game, a 104-99 loss in which Brooklyn fought valiantly but couldn’t quite see out a win, the team announced a bit of news that would make the already daunting task of coming back against the defending champions a little more difficult.
The Nets announced that ultra-reliable sharpshooter Joe Harris had to leave the Bubble. It is not clear exactly why he had to depart, but as the team described it, Harris needed to go tend to a non-medical personal matter.
Joe Harris has left the NBA Campus in Orlando due to a non-medical personal matter. The status of his return will be updated as information becomes available.
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) August 19, 2020
Obviously the No. 1 priority is that everything is ok with Harris and whatever he needs to go addressed is resolved quickly. Losing him is a tough blow for an already-shorthanded Nets squad that only used eight players in their loss on Wednesday. Harris was particularly good against the champions, scoring 14 points and pulling in a career-high 15 rebounds.
As the team mentioned in its statement, it is unclear what Harris’ availability will be moving forward this postseason. This season, he averaged career-highs in scoring and rebounding, as he went for 14.5 points and 4.3 rebounds a night. Game 3 between the Raptors and the Nets will take place on Friday afternoon, with the festivities tipping off at 1:30 p.m. EST on NBA TV.