{"id":612415,"date":"2026-02-19T21:58:36","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T21:58:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/612415\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T21:58:36","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T21:58:36","slug":"nets-to-face-cavaliers-without-nic-claxton-following-practice-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/612415\/","title":{"rendered":"Nets to face Cavaliers without Nic Claxton following practice injury"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nic Claxton<\/a> won\u2019t be available as the Nets<\/a> return from the All-Star break.<\/p>\n

Brooklyn ruled the 26-year-old center out for Thursday\u2019s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> at Rocket Arena because of a right ankle sprain. Claxton suffered the injury during Wednesday\u2019s practice in Brooklyn, and the team hasn\u2019t provided a timetable for his return. The severity of the sprain also remains unclear.<\/p>\n

Claxton has been one of the Nets\u2019 most reliable presences this season. He\u2019s appeared in 50 of the Nets\u2019 53 games, averaging 12.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists while shooting 59% from the field. His ability to anchor the paint, facilitate from the elbows and switch defensively has made him a central figure in Brooklyn\u2019s nightly rotation.<\/p>\n

The center was already sidelined ahead of the break, missing the Nets\u2019 115-110 loss to the Indiana Pacers because of right hip soreness. That night opened the door for Day\u2019Ron Sharpe, who drew his fourth start of the season and delivered one of his most complete performances. Sharpe finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and two steals in 31 minutes, showcasing the activity and passing that have defined his role when he\u2019s elevated into the starting group.<\/p>\n

Sharpe\u2019s increased minutes have also helped spark a growing chemistry with rookie guard Egor D\u00ebmin, particularly in handoff and pick-and-roll actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cDay\u2019Ron is special,\u201d D\u00ebmin said. \u201cHis superpower is rebounding. A lot of his points are putbacks and those aren\u2019t easy. I joke with him that the last couple of weeks he\u2019s been looking for me a lot coming off handoffs and ball screens, and I tell him when he sets screens, I\u2019m going to find him. The more you play together, the more confidence you build, and he makes the game easier for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sharpe has been productive in those opportunities throughout the season. As a starter, he\u2019s averaged 13.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.3 blocks, offering Brooklyn a blend of interior scoring, playmaking and defensive disruption that\u2019s helped stabilize the frontcourt when Claxton isn\u2019t available. His presence figures to be critical again Thursday as the Nets navigate Claxton\u2019s latest setback.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I get opportunities to capitalize on opportunity,\u201d Sharpe said. \u201cCan\u2019t control my minutes but whenever I do get minutes capitalize off of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brooklyn\u2019s depth will be slightly thinner beyond Sharpe, with newly acquired Josh Minott<\/a> and rookie Ben Saraf both remaining on G League assignment. That leaves the Nets to lean on their available frontcourt options as they open the final stretch of the season.<\/p>\n

Claxton\u2019s status will be worth monitoring in the coming days, particularly given his importance to Brooklyn\u2019s defensive identity and offensive flow. For now, the Nets will move forward without their starting center as they face a Cleveland team that presents a physical interior challenge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nic Claxton won\u2019t be available as the Nets return from the All-Star break. Brooklyn ruled the 26-year-old center…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":612416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3772],"tags":[7,306,305,193,3846,7272,6,671,2728],"class_list":{"0":"post-612415","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cleveland-cavaliers","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-cavaliers","10":"tag-cleveland","11":"tag-cleveland-cavaliers","12":"tag-clevelandcavaliers","13":"tag-josh-minott","14":"tag-nba","15":"tag-nets","16":"tag-nic-claxton"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116099540829577081","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=612415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/612416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=612415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=612415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=612415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}