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Tim BontempsESPN
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Brooklyn Nets guard Joe Harris left the bubble at the Walt Disney World Resort on Wednesday to attend to a non-medical personal matter after the team’s 104-99 loss to the Toronto Raptors in Game 2 of their first round playoff series.
Because of the NBA’s rules involving quarantining after leaving the league’s bubble, even if Harris was to return as soon as Thursday, because these series are being played every other day that would mean Harris would miss, at minimum, Games 3 and 4 of this series.
And, with the defending champion Raptors already holding a 2-0 lead in this best-of-seven affair, that could mean Harris has played his last game as a Net this season — and, possibly, for good, given he will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
Harris had 14 points and 15 rebounds in 39 minutes for the Nets Wednesday afternoon, though Garrett Temple lost the ball when Harris tried to hand it off to him in the closing seconds with the Nets trailing by three.
“We got the ball in the hands of our shooter,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said, referring to Brooklyn inbounding the ball to Harris, who was guarded by Kyle Lowry. “Good defense by Kyle Lowry. But the ball was intended for Joe.”
The Nets have been woefully shorthanded throughout their time in the bubble. Kevin Durant has missed the entire season with an Achilles tear, while Kyrie Irving was limited to 20 games this season because of shoulder problems. In addition, rookie Nic Claxton had knee surgery and never came to the bubble, while Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan, Taurean Prince and Wilson Chandler all opted out of participating.
Brooklyn will now have to deal with the loss of Harris, who has developed in Brooklyn into one of the league’s best 3-point shooters, and will be a coveted free agent after the season. Harris, who turns 29 on Sept. 6, averaged 14.5 points per game this season, and shot 42.4 percent from 3-point range.