Brooklyn may finally have another organiser for its backcourt. Egor Dëmin is listed as probable for Wednesday's visit to New Orleans after a right-leg bone bruise kept him out of six consecutive games, offering the 2–8 Nets a timely chance to restore some size and passing to their guard rotation. The Pelicans' official game-day injury update confirms the designation, but probable isn't the same as cleared: Brooklyn still has a final availability decision to make before the 7pm Central tip-off on 11 November (US time).
Dëmin's progress is more substantial than a hopeful injury tag. He practised with the team in Dallas on Tuesday, and coach Jordi Fernández said Brooklyn planned additional work to see how his leg responded before deciding whether he could play. The New York Post's 11 November report details that final fitness check. It's a meaningful step for the second-year guard, who hasn't played since hurting his leg against Boston on 27 October. For a young team trying to find dependable combinations, getting a genuine ball-handler back matters even before his first shot falls.
There's an immediate complication alongside the encouraging news. Nolan Traoré is questionable with right-calf soreness, according to the same official injury listing. Traoré started Brooklyn's last game in Dallas and scored 14 points in 21 minutes, hitting two threes but recording just two assists. The official Mavericks–Nets box score confirms those totals. If Traoré can't go, Dëmin's return would fill a more immediate playmaking need. If both are available, Fernández gets a more interesting choice: how to share the initiation of possessions without leaving either guard to create everything alone.
Brooklyn could use that choice. Its 130–93 loss to Dallas was ugly well beyond the final margin. The Nets shot 31-for-80 from the field and 11-for-39 from three, while Dallas scored 64 points in the paint to Brooklyn's 40. They finished with 23 assists and 16 turnovers, a poor exchange when the opposition is scoring efficiently inside. The Dallas game statistics capture the gap. A second handler won't repair defensive positioning, but it can make Brooklyn's offensive possessions less predictable: another pass after the first drive, a cleaner entry to a scorer, or a better decision when the initial action gets stopped.
The problem predates Dallas. Brooklyn committed 22 turnovers in its 124–121 defeat in Atlanta, where the Hawks scored 28 points off giveaways and outscored the Nets 70–48 in the paint. Those are possession and defensive problems rather than a shortage of individual talent. The official Nets–Hawks game summary shows just how expensive the mistakes became. Dëmin's size gives him passing angles over smaller defenders, and his willingness to move the ball can help Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle receive it in more useful positions. The point isn't to ask him to rescue the offence; it's to make the next action easier for everyone else.
He'll also have his own form to rebuild. Before the injury, Dëmin was averaging 7.8 points, 2.8 assists and 2.3 rebounds, shooting 31 per cent overall and 28.6 per cent from three, according to the New York Post's reporting. Defenders haven't had to treat him as an automatic scoring threat. That makes his decisions away from the shot especially important: getting downhill when a defender closes out too hard, delivering the ball early and keeping the floor balanced rather than forcing a difficult jumper. A useful return can look like a calmer offence, not a spectacular points total.
New Orleans isn't exactly arriving in comfort. The Pelicans are 4–7 after a 138–87 loss at Golden State, and their official matchup report lists Trey Murphy III as probable, with Yves Missi and Trendon Watford out. Those absences and possible returns change the available line-ups, but Brooklyn's more urgent job is to stop its own attack from becoming a succession of isolated attempts. The Pelicans' recent defensive struggles offer an opening if the Nets can get the ball moving before New Orleans settles into its coverage.
For Fernández, the backcourt decision is now a real one rather than a theoretical exercise. Dëmin's probable return gives Brooklyn another route into its offence; Traoré's calf status will help determine how much of that responsibility falls on him straight away. The Nets don't need a heroic comeback from a player who's been out for two weeks. They need better connections between the first pass and the final shot. If Dëmin can help supply them, his return will have mattered even without a headline scoring night.
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