Stop us if you’ve heard this before. Jeremy Lin is hurt. Again.
The point guard’s injury nightmare continues. After his trio of hamstring strains helped to scuttle the Nets’ season, this time he was forced out of Sunday’s 111-104 loss to Dallas in the first quarter with a sprained right ankle.
Lin left Barclays Center without talking to the media, walking out with no crutches, but with a slight limp and what appeared to be an ice pack wrapped around his ankle.
But did he take with him any shot at a strong finish and building much-needed chemistry with Brook Lopez?
“When we were walking in [to the locker room] I saw him. He was in good spirits,’’ Caris LeVert said. “I’m not sure [how serious it is]. He was in good spirits, so hopefully it’s not long-term.”
Unfortunately, the Nets know all about Lin and long-term injuries. They signed him to a three-year, $36 million deal this summer, but he missed 44 of their first 56 games because of hamstring strains (and one game because of a stiff back). Now, after his return following the All-Star break led to an uptick, Lin is hurt again.
“It looks like a sprain. We’ll evaluate it and have more [Monday],’’ coach Kenny Atkinson said. “I think it’s a sprain. I’m not a doctor, I have to be careful, but it’s nothing like we saw before at the beginning of the season. I think it’s just an ankle sprain. He came down on [J.J.] Barea’s ankle.”
Lin did so with 5:12 left in the first quarter, leaving with 4:36 remaining. Lin rode a stationary bike in the tunnel and returned to sit on the bench, but never checked back into the game.
And while his extended absences torpedoed this season, the Nets have been desperately hoping to salvage what is left with Lin playing alongside Lopez and LeVert.
Lopez has called Lin “paramount” to what the Nets do on both ends of the court, and he’s right.
They’re a horrid 6-41 when Lin isn’t in the lineup, but 7-15 when he is. They’re 4-7 when they can start Lin, Lopez and LeVert together, including Sunday’s loss when Lin was limited to just 7:24.
“I don’t know the situation, what his situation is right now,” said Lopez, who went through foot reconstruction in 2014. “I’m sure it’s difficult for him, though. I’ve obviously been through a lot of that, and it’s a very frustrating situation to deal with again and again in one season.”
“It’s tough, you know? It’s so difficult to see J-Lin go down.”
Spencer Dinwiddie stepped up with 18 points and seven assists, but Lin’s absence hurts in clutch spots and forces K.J. McDaniels and Archie Goodwin into the rotation. It should be noted Lin sprained his right ankle twice last season with the Hornets, but only missed a total of three games.
Trying to have Lin build a rapport with Lopez and finish strong, the Nets can only hope for a similarly speedy recovery.
“It changes our rotation, gets guys out of their comfort zone. That’s not an excuse: It’s just a fact,’’ Atkinson said. “The puzzle changes [and] we’re not good enough right now to be able to twist it around like that and change our rotations
so much. We saw that with Jeremy out early in the season. It just messes with your rotations.”