Lonnie Walker IV returns to Nets lineup after hamstring injury

When last seen, Lonnie Walker IV had emerged as a useful piece for a competitive Nets team that was developing well. The Nets had won three straight over the Heat, Bulls and Raptors to push over .500, and Walker had established himself as a very early contender for Sixth Man of the Year. He then felt his hamstring tighten in what would be termed a strain during a Nov.

30 loss to the Hornets, forcing him to the bench for the following 17 games . More than five weeks later, Walker returned to a team on a far different trajectory. The Nets went just 6 11 in the stretch without him, including dropping 10 of 12 entering Friday’s surprising 124 115 win over the Thunder at Barclays Center .

Both the Nets’ offense and defense had cratered, and they suddenly were clinging to merely a play in spot. Walker — who did not score in six minutes of action on Friday — is now “feeling good,” he said, and hoping to be what the team has missed. But yes, the team’s struggles made it that much harder to be absent.

“Absolutely. I just love to win,” Walker said at morning shootaround before making his return. “This game I’ve been playing all my life. … You’re part of an organization, you got your brothers and your teammates — one leg, no legs, no matter. You’re going to try and be on that court giving your all if there’s an opportunity to play.

“So I’m just happy to be back. I’m blessed to be back. I’m just ready to go through war with my teammates.” Before his hamstring sidetracked his season (and helped sidetrack his team’s), the sixth year pro and first year Net was playing the best basketball of his career. Walker was averaging 14.6 points on just 21.3 minutes per game — including shooting 46.3 percent from deep, which ranked fourth in the entire NBA entering Friday — and represented instant offense with the Nets’ second unit.

Before Walker’s injury, the Nets averaged 116 points per game. After it, their output slid to 112.5 per game, including a miserable, team wide funk over the past two weeks that had threatened to tank what once looked like a promising season. “We haven’t been winning, so it’s good to have another spark out there,” Mikal Bridges said of Walker.

“Just his presence in general [has been missed]. … Just what he does out there, bringing energy and plays well, offensively and defensively.” Walker’s biggest contributions come on the offensive end, where he is a rare shot creator on a team filled with 3 and D types. The 25 year old can find lanes and beat on ball defenders and entered play with a 119.5 offensive rating, the team’s best among players with at least 11 games played.

His game is a bit redundant of Cam Thomas’ game, who had grown into the Nets’ microwave scorer (off the bench or with the starting unit) since Walker went down. It will be curious to see how head coach Jacque Vaughn proceeds with the two, especially because Thomas recently has been relegated to the second unit.

That is probably a problem for another day as Walker will be on a minute restriction for his first few games back. “He has the athletic ability to get downhill, to win some one on one battles and then, which was interesting, his ability to kick out also gave us open 3s,” Vaughn said. “And then a guy that could guard on the defensive end of the floor, multiple positions.

So, missed him.” Walker does not want to dwell on the negatives, for himself and the team, of his time away. He hopes sitting for a month plus in the middle of the season will ensure he is well rested for the rest of the campaign. “It’s a blessing in disguise to kind of be recouped or recovered,” Walker said, “and kind of be prepared down the stretch of the season.”.