Harris leaves bubble for personal matter

The Nets lost their first two games of the playoffs, and their next two just got that much more difficult.

Sharpshooter Joe Harris left the Orlando bubble following his team’s 104-99 Game 2 loss to the Toronto Raptors due to a non-medical personal matter, the team announced. It is unclear at this moment how long he will be gone.

What is clear, however, is that Harris will have to quarantine as part of the NBA’s coronavirus protocol before re-entering the Orlando bubble. He will at minimum miss the next three games and could potentially return for Game 6 — provided the Nets make it that far.

With Harris, the Nets were likely to get swept. Without him, the series might as well be put in rice.

Harris has been critical to the Nets’ success since the restart. He played in six of the Nets’ eight seeding games, averaging 20 points on 54% shooting from three. No player who averaged at least six threes attempted per game shot a better percentage than Harris in the NBA bubble.

Harris scored 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting in Brooklyn’s Game 2 loss to the Raptors. In Game 1, he scored 19 points and shot 8-of-14 from the field. It is likely that either reserve guard Chris Chiozza or reserve forward Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot start in place of Harris until the conclusion of the series — or his return, whichever comes first.

The Nets were already severely shorthanded entering the Orlando bubble, and Harris adds another starter to the list of names on the outside looking in. Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan, Taurean Prince, Wilson Chandler and rookie Nic Claxton each stayed home due to either injury or the coronavirus. Kevin Durant also stayed home to rehab his Achilles tendon, but he has been out all season and was not expected to make his return in Orlando.