The Nets will be without starting point guard Devin Harris for the next 7-10 days due to a strained right groin. This will hurt the Nets as Harris is the best player on the team. He has started 2 games this season for the Nets and he has averaged 32.0 minutes, 15.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Harris will be replaced by veteran Rafer Alston. Alston has played in 4 games (2 starts) for the Nets this season and he is averaging 29.3 minutes, 8.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. Alston will likely do a decent job while Harris is out but this injury will still hurt the Nets.

UPDATE: Harris will now be out around 4 weeks due to his groin injury which is a little worse than first thought. This will really hurt the Nets as Harris is without a doubt the best player on the team.

The Nets will be without small forward Jarvis Hayes for a while due to a strained hamstring. He was injured after only playing 2 minutes in the season opener against the T-Wolves. He did not score and he had a steal. This is the kind of break that rookie Terrence Williams needed as he will likely fill in for Hayes. He played in 31 minutes in the season opener for the Nets and he finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 1 assists showing his vast potential. Bobby Simmons might also see a small bump in playing time. He played 8 minutes in the season opener and he finished with 4 points and 1 rebound.

Starting center Nenad Krstic is out indefinately due to soreness in his knee that he had surgery on last year. Krstic has played in 12 games this season and he looked like a player who was hurting as he only has hit 32.9% of his shots from the floor. Krstic is averaging 15.0 minutes, 4.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Second year man Josh Boone has been inserted into the starting lineup at center and he’s done a decent job for the Nets. Boone has played in 29 games so far this season and he’s averaging 20.4 minutes, 6.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Boone is shooting 51.9% from the floor but only 30.5% from the free throw line. Boone can’t be on the court at the end of the game because of his free throw shooting which could hinder the Nets late.

The Nets will be without Vince Carter for the next three weeks due to a Grade 1 ankle sprain. Carter has played in 6 games this season and he has averaged 36.2 minutes, 17.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.0 block per game this season. Antoine Wright will replace him in the starting lineup and that will be a huge dropoff in production for the Nets.

Darrell Armstrong will miss the next 2-4 weeks with a contusion of his right knee. He has played in 8 games this season for the Nets and he has averaged 14.3 minutes, 3.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. The Nets will miss his energy off of the bench while he’s out.