SALT LAKE CITY — The Nets seemingly have erred on the side of caution when it comes to injured Cam Johnson and D’Angelo Russell.
Predictably, both will remain sidelined Sunday when the Nets play the Jazz, as will Cam Thomas.
Johnson will miss a fifth consecutive game with a right ankle sprain suffered in the waning seconds of their Jan. 2 victory in Milwaukee.
The Nets haven’t won since he went down, dropping four straight by a combined 77 points.
Russell will sit out his fourth in a row with a right shin contusion.
The Nets had shown at least moderate confidence that Johnson would play on this six-game Western Conference road swing.
But leading scorer Thomas and Trendon Watford have both been ruled out with left hamstring strains until they return to Brooklyn.
“Cam Johnson and D-Lo are day-to-day. So they look good. They’re working and that’s where we’re at right now,” coach Jordi Fernandez said. “Trendon is working and most likely won’t play in this trip.”
Dariq Whitehead is questionable for Sunday.
The second-year wing is in concussion protocol after taking a shot to the head in a recent G-League game for Long Island.
Bojan Bogdanovic (left foot injury recovery), Maxwell Lewis (left tibia fracture), De’Anthony Melton (left knee ACL tear) are all out, along with Thomas and Watford.
The Nets will be in Los Angeles this coming week, slated to play the Clippers on Wednesday and Lakers on Friday.
That presumes the horrific wildfires ravaging the area don’t continue to wreak further havoc on the schedule.
The fires in Palisades, Eaton and Hurst have already displaced almost 200,000 and killed at least 11.
Ziaire Williams, who was born in Lancaster (Ca.) and went to Sierra Canyon High School, said he escaped personal tragedy.
“My house is safe, family is safe,” Williams told The Post. “So that’s a blessing, for sure.
“[The fires] are spread out. There’s a fire to the west of us and fire south of us. L.A. is pretty big, so they’re pretty spread out. But yeah, luckily, my house is safe. A couple of my friends lost their homes, but that stuff can be replaced. I’m just glad everybody’s safe and walking away.”
Forward Tosan Evbuomwan followed up his 13-point, seven-rebound outing against Detroit with 10 points against the Nuggets.
He hit 2 of 5 from 3-point range and looked comfortable and confident in just his fourth game for the Nets.
“It feels like more, honestly. The guys have done a great job of bringing me up to speed with everything. Giving me confidence, encouraging me, stuff like that,” Evbuomwan said. “They make it easy with learning plays and stuff like that. They have been pretty diligent with that ever since I have been here, but yes it has been great.”
Evbuomwan logged 22:29 on Friday, and Fernandez was pleased enough with his minutes that he suggested there could be even more in the offing if the 23-year-old continues to play this well.
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