SAN ANTONIO — Jarrett Jack could make his season debut for the Nets on Friday night against the Spurs.
Jack participated fully in Thursday’s practice at the team’s New Jersey practice facility, and said he hopes to be in uniform Friday after sitting on the bench with a sore left hamstring for Wednesday’s season-opening 115-100 loss to the Bulls in Brooklyn.
“It’s definitely eating at me,” Jack said of being forced to sit out. “I’m not a guy that’s missed many games over the course of my career, so being available is something I pride myself on. No matter the situation or the circumstance, whenever your body doesn’t allow you to go, it’s frustrating.
“But you’ve got to be patient as best you can, and when you’re able to get out there and be positive with it … you want to be able to be yourself, because once you step between those lines there’s no excuses. Hopefully my health gets back where I need to be, and Friday will be the day [I can play].”
When the Nets moved on from Deron Williams in July, agreeing to buy him out of the final two years of his contract, Jack became the team’s starter by default. But the starting job was left in the hands of former Knick Shane Larkin for Wednesday’s loss, with Jack relegated to sitting in a suit and acting as an extra assistant coach after missing the previous four days of practice.
“I hurt it in the last drill of practice [Oct. 22], crazy enough,” Jack said. “I just pulled it while we were scrimmaging, thought I’d be able to sit out over the weekend, but then it still was a little tight.
“But hopefully Friday I’ll be able to get out there.”
Jack said the toughest part about sitting out has been the prescribed treatment — rest — has prevented him from doing much other than sitting around and waiting to feel better.
“Normally when something is wrong with you, you’d love to be able to amp up treatment but the only treatment for a hamstring really is rest,” Jack said. “But luckily for me it was at the beginning of the season where I don’t have to miss a long stretch of games, and I’ll be back Friday and won’t have to be dealing with this anymore.”