What does Day’Ron Sharpe’s injury mean for the Brooklyn Nets?

With backup center Day’Ron Sharpe out for at least the next two weeks, what does his absence mean for the Brooklyn Nets?

Brooklyn Nets backup center Day’Ron Sharpe suffered an hyperextended left knee in Sunday’s 134-127 overtime loss to the Portland Trail Blazers and will be out for at least the next two weeks. With Sharpe out of the lineup for the time being, what does that mean for the Nets moving forward?

Sharpe, 22, was having his best season in the NBA ever since he came to the Nets as the 29th overall pick in the 2021 Draft out of North Carolina. Sharpe, now in his third season, has been primarily a bench center for Brooklyn across different iterations of the team, all while backing up starting center Nic Claxton.

So far this season, Sharpe is averaging 7.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 57.5% from the field and 61.4% from the free-throw line in 16.0 minutes per game. With the exception of field-goal percentage and free-throw percentage, he is averaging career-highs in all other statistical categories for a Nets team that was becoming dependent on his bench production.

With Sharpe out of commission for some time, that could open up playing time for players like Trendon Watford, Harry Giles III, and Noah Clowney to be the backup center depending on how Brooklyn head coach Jacque Vaughn wants to play against certain matchups. It is also possible that Vaughn will lean more on players like Dorian Finney-Smith and Watford for backup center minutes given that the Nets have been reluctant to give playing time to Giles and Clowney for various reasons.

Sharpe has played in every game this season so it’s possible that Vaughn could go a totally different direction than what has already been mentioned since he hasn’t had to build his rotation without Sharpe in it. No matter what Vaughn does, someone will be either getting more minutes than they were already getting or find themselves in a new role with the opportunity to earn minutes even when Sharpe returns to the lineup.

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