Dorian Finney-Smith may not lead the Nets in scoring or rebounding, but make no mistake, he leads the Nets. And they’ll have him back for the first time since before Thanksgiving.
The veteran forward is off the injury report and said he’ll play in Sunday’s matinee vs. visiting Milwaukee after missing the past four games with a sprained left ankle.
“It’s a long season. Nobody’s really 100 percent, so I’m pretty sure everybody’s got some nags and bumps and bruises, but I feel better and I’m ready to play [Sunday],” Finney-Smith said. “Yeah, no question. You know I’m playing.”
Finney-Smith practiced for a second straight day after having missed six of the past seven games with the ankle injury that cropped up at shootaround Nov. 11.
Nets coach Jordi Fernandez has talked about the need to protect Finney-Smith from himself because of his willingness to play hurt. That’s been a delicate balance — especially because at 31, Finney-Smith is getting old(er).
“Hell nah, I ain’t old,” Finney-Smith laughed. “Don’t do that because now they think 31 and 30 is old. It ain’t old. You’re just 30, so your body, it ain’t the same. You’ve got to take care of it. You’ve got to listen to it sometimes, and sometimes I tell my body what it wants to hear instead of listening to it.
“It’s a tough battle. They’re telling me I’m older now. The body takes a little more time to recover. You can’t just tie your shoe tighter and go back out there and think everything’s gonna be good like it used to be.
“But I appreciate it. Coach, for instance, we had a stint in the game in the fourth quarter and he’s like, ‘You good to go, Doe? You’re barely moving.’ I’m like, ‘S–t, you better not take me out of the game.’ I just want to win and be out there for my guys.”
Finney-Smith’s guys are better when he’s there for them, leading, defending and even spacing the floor.
Nets sources often cite him as the grown-up in the room, and Trendon Watford even labeled him Mr. Positivity. His impact is very much that.
“Doe brings toughness, his veteran leadership that he brings to any team,” Watford said. “That’s what he’s made his name off of, just him being a leader and him being that tough guy, him just being a knockdown shooter and lock-down defender. We know what Doe brings every night, and we definitely can use it.”
Clearly. Brooklyn is plus-56 with Finney-Smith on the floor, by far the best on the team.
The next closest is a plus-10. In his recent absence, they’ve dropped three of those games and two by at least 23 points.
As a matter of fact, their three worst defeats (26, 25 and 23 points) all came with Finney-Smith sidelined.
Their three biggest wins (13, 13 and 10 points) were all with him starting. There is causality there.
“Toughness, personality, experience, trust, you can go on and on and on,” Fernandez said. “He means a lot for the group. For us as coaches, we’re very comfortable having him on the court … and having him active. Whether he’s on the court, on the bench, his presence is very important. And his teammates feel the same way. Whenever he’s back active and playing, we’ll be very happy to have him.”
Finney-Smith is on pace for his best statistical season since coming to Brooklyn, averaging 10.7 points and 4.3 boards, shooting 46.7 percent and 42.2 from deep.
The 3-point percentage is a career high, as are his 3-pointers made (2.3) and taken (5.5).
“The staff and this team, everybody [is] on me when I turn down shots and I’m not aggressive,” Finney-Smith said. “When your team believes in you that much, it feels good. Coach, he’s telling my family, ‘Man, if he don’t shoot the ball …’ So now you’ve got wifey and my mom and them telling me, ‘Coach telling me you need to shoot.’ So he’s even creeping into my house.”
Noah Clowney (ankle) is questionable after missing the past six.
