PHILADELPHIA — With the Nets out of the playoff hunt, but also out of the lottery, fans are desperately searching for any shred of good news. Here’s one: Rookie Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is healthy, practicing and inching closer to a return from his fractured ankle.
The time frame is right around the one first reported in The Post, roughly three months since the December injury. But when and where Hollis-Jefferson will make his highly anticipated return, nobody knows — not the rookie and not the Nets themselves.
“Not [a rush] at all. Not at all. Whenever I’m ready and they call my name, that’s how it’ll go,” Hollis-Jefferson said before Friday’s 95-89 loss in Philadelphia.
“Whenever that is. I’m not sure when that’s going to be, but he’s putting in the work and he’s obviously trying to get himself in better conditioning so that we can put him out there on the floor,” interim coach Tony Brown said. “But he’s doing all the necessary work. Even though he hasn’t played in the games, he’s doing all the work to get himself ready.
“He’s doing what’s been asked of him. He’s come in and worked on his shot, he’s getting extra work in practice on the days that we do practice, and on the days that we don’t, he’s coming in.”
With the Nets just 18-47 and bereft of their own first-round draft pick until 2019, Hollis-Jefferson had been one of the bright spots for fans until he got hurt Dec. 4, going under the knife five days later at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
Dr. Martin O’Malley — the ace surgeon who did foot procedures on Brook Lopez and Kevin Durant — used two screws to repair a non-displaced fracture of the posterior talus in Hollis-Jefferson’s right ankle. An expert in the field quoted The Post a timeframe of three months, with the Nets later estimating a more hopeful eight-to-10 weeks. Wednesday marked 13 weeks since the surgery.
“The toughest part for me is actually sitting out of the game,” Hollis-Jefferson said. “I understand. I’ve been injured before, a while ago, when I was in high school. So I understand what it’s like to have to sit out, and I understand the rehab part of things. You’ve got to get your leg stronger. But even if you understand it, it’s still hard to actually sit out basketball when you love so much. This is my life. This is what I do — sleep, eat and think it — so when I’m not doing it, it’s tough.”
Hollis-Jefferson has returned to “every facet” of practice, including contact and scrimmaging, according to Brown.
“Everything is good,” Hollis-Jefferson said. “Just taking it day by day, definitely trying to get my lungs back up to par, 48 minutes or however long I have to play. I’m just trying to be ready for whenever my number is called.”
How?
“[I’m] working out, sprints, a lot of full-court stuff, shooting, ball handling, just doing everything, core, lifting, just trying to do everything I’ve got to do to get back,” he said.
Hollis-Jefferson has been traveling with the team, coming in on off-days, and honing his jumper with new shooting coach David Nurse. And the rookie — who was averaging 6.1 rebounds (fourth among rookies at the point of his injury) and 1.4 steals (leading all rookies) — said he’s a better player than before his injury but also knows he has to prove it on the court.
“Just from my mindset and how I am, confident, yeah, of course. But anyone can get better off the court. You’ve got to go out there and show that you can do it at the end of the day,” Hollis-Jefferson said. “You can be the best workout guy in the world, and every workout you can kill, but that has to translate to the game. So whenever I get back, and get back into the swing of things, we’ll see.”