As the Nets get set to take on the Celtics, Kyrie Irving is not the only Brooklyn player who will miss Wednesday's 7 p.m. tip-off at TD Garden in Boston.
Along with their star point guard, who is out for the seventh straight game as he recovers from his right shoulder impingement, they revealed Wednesday afternoon that center DeAndre Jordan would also sit due to left ankle soreness.
Starting shooting guard Caris LeVert (right thumb surgery) remains out indefinitely while star forward Kevin Durant (right Achilles rehab) is still unlikely to return in time for the 2019-20 season.
Despite the absences, the Nets have won their past four games, starting with last Wednesday's 101-91 win over the Charlotte Hornets (6-12) at Barclays Center in New York.
The Nets (9-8) followed with last Friday's 116-97 rout of the Sacramento Kings (7-9), Sunday's 103-101 edge over the Knicks (4-13) and Monday's 108-106 triumph at the Cleveland Cavaliers (5-12).
Against the Celtics (12-4), however, the competition ratchets up several notches. Jordan entered the year as a bench player for the Nets, but has been an imperative presence on both ends of the floor around the rim.
Jordan averages 7.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 blocks in 21.3 minutes over 15 games (three starts) as a key presence off the bench.
The veteran's absence likely opens up more minutes for power forward Nicolas Claxton, whom the Nets selected with the No. 31 overall pick -- the first in the second round -- in June's 2019 NBA draft.
Through eight games off the bench, the 6-foot-10 rookie from Georgia averages 3.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.5 blocks in 12.5 minutes.