Stalled during Durant’s absence last season, can he avoid a second chance?
Nets forward Kevin Durant is expected to miss about a month with a right knee injury, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
With 1 minute and 5 seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter of the heat match of the 8th, Jimmy Butler tried to attack, but was blocked by Ben Simmons and lost his balance, leaning his weight on Durant’s knee which was nearby, collapsing. Durant, who continued to play in a gesture of holding onto his right knee after collapsing with him in the process, quickly returned to the bench.
Last January, Durant missed six weeks with the same left knee injury, but Wojnarowski said the Nets won’t be out for more than four weeks and will be back in less time than last year’s injury. I plan to have another MRI scan in the next couple of weeks to see how I’m recovering.
A year ago, in Durant’s absence, the Nets went 5-17, including an 11-game losing streak. Durant was 27-15 before he left, but when he returned his savings were gone. And now the Nets are in almost the same situation as they were a year ago, with 27 wins and 13 losses.
The Nets are off to a 1-5 start this season and Kyrie Irving also retired due to off the field issues. However, through the Durant-focused efforts of role players such as Nicholas Claxton, Royce O’Neill, and Yuta Watanabe, the team rallied and moved up to 2nd place in the East Conference. Next month will be a big time for the Nets to see if they can continue this good run in Durant’s absence.
Durant has played in 39 games so far, averaging 29.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists. In addition, his field goal success rate was 55.9%, a personal best, and was his first time in a big wheel. It goes without saying that individual players must step up to fill Durant’s void. Simmons, who has averaged 7.7 points so far, which is about half his career average (15.1), while Irving plays a key role on offense, and TJ, who returned in December after a long absence about two years old and has accumulated real combat experience Warren and others need to be more involved in scoring. Also, Yuta Watanabe should be more aggressive with his strong 3-point shooting.
