NEW YORK -- The Brooklyn Nets (0-5) are still winless thus far in the 2026-27 NBA season and while it looked like they were turning a corner, Friday's loss to the Detroit Pistons looks like a huge setback. Brooklyn seems to be getting the message that something has to change within the team, but heading into Sunday's matchup at the Indiana Pacers, some members of the rotation will be unavailable.
The Nets announced on Saturday that guards Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. will not be able to play against the Pacers due to their respective conditions. Demin will be out for the next week due to his right leg bone bruise that he suffered in a 125-124 overtime loss to the Boston Celtics while Brown will be unavailable as the team continues to manage
his back.
"I think it just tells you the type of person he is. [He's] tough and holds himself accountable, and other people would deflect or have excuses, and that's not who he is," Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez said of Brown following his rookie mistake in the loss to the Celtics. The rookie has been showing his potential on both ends of the floor, but the Nets are still making sure that Brown is not over-exerting himself as he adjusts to the NBA game.
"At the end of the day, I don't think that is a big mistake. It's just a mistake that you learn about those moments and situations the more you play," Fernandez continued. "We probably don't have the chance to be there [in overtime] without him, right? He made big shots and so forth. So, it's a little bit of everything. He's not down on himself, that's who he is."
In addition to Demin and Brown, the Nets will be without rookies Joshua Jefferson and Tyler Bilodeau along with Ben Saraf and Grant Nelson as they remain on their G League assignments. Fernandez has been using Nolan Traore as the starting point guard over the past two games, but he went with Chaney Johnson as the starting shooting guard in Sunday's 110-94 NBA Cup loss to the Pistons so it'll be interesting if Fernandez continues with that lineup.
For tomorrow's game at the Pacers, the Nets say that Egor Demin (right leg bone bruise), Mikel Brown Jr. (back injury management), Joshua Jefferson (G League), Ben Saraf (G League), Tyler Bilodeau (G League), and Grant Nelson (G League) are OUT.
— Sharif Phillips-Keaton (@SharifKeaton) October 31, 2026
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets full injury report for Sunday's matchup at the Pacers
