Skip to content

Nets' Young to return Tuesday after missing 2 games with knee injury

Ron Schwane / USA TODAY Sports

The Brooklyn Nets are getting a big lift as they head into a crucial showdown with fellow Eastern Conference playoff hopefuls the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday.

The Nets will have combo forward Thaddeus Young back in uniform after he missed two games with a hyperextended knee, though Young says he isn't sure how much he'll play or whether he'll start.

Since being acquired from the Minnesota Timberwolves at the trade deadline, Young has averaged 13.6 points and 5.1 rebounds in 27.7 minutes, while shooting 49.5 percent from the field and a sizzling 48.6 percent from deep. The Nets are 9-9 when he's played, and have been four points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor.

The Nets sit mere percentage points behind the Boston Celtics for the East's eighth and final playoff seed, but the Pacers are breathing down their necks, just a half-game back. With the teams having split the season series thus far, Tuesday's game will settle the head-to-head tiebreaker, making it arguably the biggest contest of the season to date for both sides.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox