MINNEAPOLIS — Caris LeVert has missed more than seven weeks after thumb surgery. But his wait to get back on the court is almost over.
After hurting himself on Nov. 10, LeVert sat out his 23rd straight game Monday in Minnesota, the site of his horrific foot dislocation almost exactly a year to the day earlier. But LeVert worked out before the game and is on the brink of returning to action.
“Looked really good, is feeling really good,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We’re getting close.”
The Nets were scheduled to fly to Dallas right after Monday’s game in Minnesota. They won’t practice Tuesday, but they have a full practice slated for Wednesday. That workout could be the last step in getting LeVert back out on the court.
“We’ll see. That’s a big one,” Atkinson said. “That’ll be more, a bigger five-on-five group. So we’re just getting real close. We want to make sure we check all the boxes and [there are] a lot of boxes to be checked. Personally I don’t want to rush into anything. And I know we need him back but I want this to be a health long-term thing for the rest of the year.”
LeVert — who as averaging 16.8 points, five rebounds and four assists when he got hurt — has done five-on-five work before. But getting enough body of work under him is vital for the Nets, who generally err on the side of caution.
“He’s done 5-on-5. But like I said, making sure that we’re checking all the boxes, making sure he’s got enough of those reps,” Atkinson said. “Similar quite honestly to what we did with Wilson [Chandler].
“I personally don’t feel comfortable just rolling a guy out there without the proper build-up and game simulations. I think it’s important we want when guys step in the lineup that they’re ready to go.”
Chandler came into the Timberwolves game shooting 40.0 percent overall and just .118 from 3-point range. Chandler finished the Nets’ 122-115 loss overtime loss to the Timberwolves with 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting while going 3 for 6 from 3 and grabbing five rebounds.
Minnesota star center Karl-Anthony Towns — who had been listed as questionable — missed his seventh straight games with a left knee sprain. Guard Andrew Wiggins sat out a second straight with flu-like symptoms.
Former Net Treveon Graham, who started in the Timberwolves’ last game, was also out.