Three weeks after his return to the court, T.J. Warren said his surgically repaired foot feels strong — and is getting stronger.
“Yeah, my foot was good. It’s getting better every game,” the Nets forward said. “Every time I’m out there, I feel like starting to feel that myself more and more and more, definitely.
“Being out two years and coming back, I feel like I’ve been adjusting pretty well, I think better than what people want. But it’s always room for improvement. I’m still getting my legs under me. So it’s getting more and more comfortable out there.”
Warren had essentially missed two years with multiple stress fractures and two surgeries, before finally coming back Dec. 2. He has been treated with kid gloves by the Nets and has had his minutes managed, but he has shown no rust other than his 3-point shot. And his defense has been a pleasant surprise. He has hardly lived up to the reputation as a sieve, which he feels was never deserved.
“I’m fully confident in myself. I know what I can provide for a team. Just being a two-way player, locking in on defense,” said Warren, whose plus-8.1 net rating is on pace for a career-best. “I feel like a lot of people didn’t think I can play defense. I don’t know where that narrative came from, but I’ve been improving on that end as well as being a scorer. Just being aggressive when I’m locked in.”
Royce O’Neale’s playing time, upon his return from a two-game absence due to personal reasons, has been cut back to 32:28 and 31:37.
“I’m playing basketball, so I felt good,” O’Neale, who had been second in the NBA in minutes played earlier in the season, said with a shrug.
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“It was great to get a rest. I didn’t know I was number two in minutes, but that’s just me putting in a lot of hard work and being ready to play every game, every minute.”
O’Neale, who spent five years with the Jazz alongside Donovan Mitchell, said he had no clue of his longtime friend’s comments about the mental strain surrounding the subtle and not-so-subtle racial aspects of playing in Salt Lake City.
Patty Mills practiced Tuesday and will be available Wednesday versus the Warriors after he missed the last two games with a non-COVID illness.
David Duke Jr., Kessler Edwards, Day’Ron Sharpe and Donovan Williams are all out on G-League assignment with Long Island, but the Nets are finally expected to have a clean injury list.
The Warriors, who were blown out by the Knicks on Tuesday, couldn’t say as much.
Stephen Curry (left shoulder subluxation), Donte DiVincenzo (non-COVID illness), JaMychal Green (health and safety protocols), Andre Iguodala (left hip), and Andrew Wiggins (right adductor strain) were all out, while Jonathan Kuminga (left knee soreness) played and scored 13 points in the loss and Klay Thompson (left knee soreness) added 11.
Nets owner Joe Tsai plans to sell an 8 percent stake in Alibaba, the e-commerce giant he co-founded, according to a recent SEC filing. … Kevin Durant and business partner Rich Kleiman are buying a Major League Pickleball expansion team, according to Sportico.
