Kris Humphries injury: Nets PF won't play on Christmas

Brooklyn Nets power forward Kris Humphries will miss the team's next two games with an abdominal strain before being re-evaluated, according to Howard Beck of the New York Times.

The injury will keep Humphries out of the team's Christmas Day game against the Boston Celtics, keeping him off the court after a scuffle with Rajon Rondo in the last meeting between the teams, which saw both players, as well as Gerald Wallace, ejected. He'll also miss Wednesday's matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Humphries began the season as a key cog in the Nets' starting five, providing a strong rebounder up front with center Brook Lopez, whose work on the glass had been criticized. He'd been coming through, bringing in double-digit boards in six of the team's first 12 games, but has slowly seen a dropoff in minutes. With the team losing four straight games, he was benched in favor or Reggie Evans, also a talented rebounder, and did not play at all in Sunday's game against the Philadelphia 76ers, although that could have been related to the abdominal strain.

Brooklyn started Evans in Humphries' place for five games, but put Keith Bogans in the starting five against Philadelphia while sliding Gerald Wallace up to the power forward spot. The smaller lineup with Bogans could be a good matchup against a Boston Celtics team that plays Kevin Garnett at center, although Avery Johnson might choose to have Wallace check Paul Pierce.