MINNEAPOLIS — All the injured Nets who aren’t playing have put a heavier burden on those healthy few who are.
No player has taken on more unexpected responsibility than Garrett Temple. And over the past two weeks it’s clearly weighing on him, with the veteran struggling mightily on the offensive end.
Temple has been one of the Nets’ biggest surprises. But over his past eight games, he’s shot 32 percent, and just 25 percent from 3-point range.
And his funk has gotten deeper in his past five, at 26.6 percent overall and 24.3 percent from deep. Only one starting guard — Oklahoma City’s Terrance Ferguson — shot worse in a five-game stretch.
While Taurean Prince showed signs of breaking out of his malaise Saturday in Houston, the Nets desperately need Temple to do the same Monday versus the Timberwolves.
“Yeah, I’ve got to figure out a way to get out of this slump,” Temple told The Post. “I’ve got to make shots for us to keep the defense honest, but also just to offensively help us have more balance.
“You’ve got to keep shooting it though, got to keep shooting it, continue to do what you do every day, same habits every day. I’ll continue to do that. Coaches trust me, teammates trust me. It’s going to turn.”
They clearly trust him. It’s not like they have a choice.
But he’s been trusted — and tasked — not only with starting at off-guard since Caris LeVert got hurt Nov. 10, but he’s also defending the best perimeter scorer and serving as backup point guard.
“We’re asking a lot of him, there’s no doubt about it,” Kenny Atkinson admitted. “He’s guarding the best player most of the time. He’s running the second unit as a point guard. But he wouldn’t want it any other way, and I think he’s been fantastic in a much more expanded role than we originally thought.
“He’s struggling a little with his shot, but against Atlanta he had 25 points and really helped us win the game, so I expect him to come back. To answer [the] question bluntly, yeah, we’re asking a lot of him. But too much? He’s an NBA player, he’s been 10 years in this league. I think he welcomes the responsibility.
“Myself, I have to understand that we can’t play him 40 minutes a game. We have to use his minutes judiciously. I can do a better job of that.”
Temple has averaged 20.8 minutes over his career, and never topped the average of 27.2 he played last season.
But now? Injuries have forced Atkinson to play him a career-high 29.1. And over Temple’s past five games he’s logged a team-leading 34.2, including 40 versus Atlanta and 39 in New Orleans.
“Yeah you didn’t think that. You don’t foresee this amount of injuries. We’ve had a lot of injuries, which has changed up all the lineups,” Temple told The Post. “[But] it’s not something that I think is too much at all. We’ve won games with this lineup, we’ve won games with this rotation.
“Theo [Pinson] played great [Saturday], he may play more the next game. If not, then I know what I have to do. And this team is really big on recovery and getting your body right. But I’ve got to find a way to like I said get my shot back right, no matter what I’m playing: 35 minutes, point guard, guarding the best player. I’ve got to produce.”
There are clearly diminishing returns for the 33-year-old, who needs either a breather or helping hand.
“Garrett has played a ton of point guard. As you can see, that’s putting a big burden on him,” Atkinson said. “We don’t have that secondary ball-handler out there with him. So we have to reconsider Theo, even [Dzanan] Musa is a good passer. Our defense is pretty good with that group, but we do need to find a solution offensively.”