Portland Trail Blazers vs Brooklyn Nets: preview and player stats

Head coach Micah Nori said Morant met with a doctor in Los Angeles, who gave him a positive outlook on his recovery from the hamstring injury. While Nori declined to update Morant's timetable, he added Morant "may not be out for as long as we thought," Trail Blazers Insider Sean Highkin reports. Morant was initially given a four-week timetable after he suffered a Grade 2 left hamstring strain on Oct. 30. It sounds like he's making solid progress, though it would be surprising to see him beat that timetable given the tricky nature of hamstring injuries. Scoot Henderson will continue to start in his absence and there will be more minutes available for Jrue Holiday.

Sharpe suffered a torn meniscus in his knee and is expected to miss six months, per Shams Charania of ESPN. It's a tough blow to the Trail Blazers' depth on the wing ahead of training camp. Sharpe, who is now likely to be sidelined until after the All-Star break, had been ticketed for a reserve role behind Toumani Camara following an injury-plagued 2025-26 campaign, which saw average a career-high 20.8 points, 1.4 steals and 2.1 three-pointers per game over 50 regular-season appearances. The door is now open for Vit Krejci and Jeremy Sochan to compete for bench minutes during camp.

Krejci underwent surgery on his fractured left ankle Wednesday and will be re-evaluated in eight weeks, Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints.com reports. Krejci suffered the ankle injury in last Wednesday's win over the Suns and is set to miss an extended period after undergoing surgery. With the 26-year-old and Ja Morant (hamstring) both on the shelf, Jrue Holiday and Sidy Cissoko should continue seeing increased minutes.

Youngblood has been ruled out for Wednesday's game against the Thunder. Youngblood came down awkwardly following a fastbreak layup attempt at the start of the fourth quarter and didn't return. He's recently carved out a role in Portland, averaging 14.8 minutes per game over the past five games, so in his absence, Sidy Cissoko and Scoot Henderson are candidates for increased roles.

Traore (calf) has been ruled out for Wednesday's game against the Pelicans, Ian Begley of SportsNet New York reports. Traore will miss his first game of the season after being downgraded from questionable to out. The second-year wing was flourishing in a starting role, averaging 15.1 points, 3.0 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 1.9 steals in 24.9 minutes over his past seven games. With Mikel Brown (illness) and Traore unavailable, Egor Demin (leg), Keon Ellis, Chaney Johnson, Noah Clowney and Danny Wolf are candidates for increased roles.

Brown has been ruled out for Wednesday's game against the Pelicans due to an illness, Sharif Phillips-Keaton of USA Today reports. Brown had been sidelined for Sunday's 130-93 loss to the Mavericks due to back injury management and was slated to return to action Wednesday. However, he appears to have fallen ill overnight, as the Nets added him to the injury report as questionable earlier Wednesday before downgrading him to out.