Kevin Durant's absence forces Nets to use whole team effort
Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant (7) dunks in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans in New Orleans, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton) Credit: AP/Matthew Hinton
The Nets are still deciding whether or not Kevin Durant will join the team on their five-game road trip that begins Tuesday in San Antonio.
Durant, who will be out for at least a month after spraining the MCL in his right knee on Jan. 8 in Miami, was not on the team’s bench for Thursday’s loss to Boston at the Barclays Center.
“He hasn’t been sitting on the bench. We don’t want anyone saving the ball [and] running into him,” coach Jacque Vaughn said after practice Saturday as the Nets prepare for Sunday's game against Oklahoma City. “We’re going to talk that through and see if it makes sense. The priority No. 1 is getting him back to playing as soon as possible. But definitely having him around to bounce ideas off of and continue to lead our group is still huge for us.”
When Durant suffered a similar injury to his right knee last year and missed a month and a half, he was rarely with the team and the Nets went 5-17 and suffered an 11-game losing streak.
Although the Nets are 0-1 since Durant was injured the team is better equipped to at least tread water until his return. Against the league-leading Celtics, the Nets were in a tight game and trailed, 84-82, at the end of the third before scoring just 16 points in the final quarter.
When the Nets crumbled in Durant's absence last season, Irving was a part-time player because of his vaccination status. Harden was on his way to mentally checking out and demanding a trade, Joe Harris was out for the season with an ankle sprain, Nic Claxton was fighting a prolonged illness that was reported to be mononucleosis and the Nets bench was old and mostly unproductive.
This past summer, the Nets added a starter in Royce O’Neale and signed Yuta Watanabe, T.J. Warren, Edmond Sumner and Markieff Morris — all of whom have contributed. What’s more Harris is back and scored 18 points as a starter against the Celtics.
“Obviously you miss Kevin and you can’t replace him,” Harris said after practice Saturday. “Hopefully, it’s a collective effort to [keep the team afloat.]”
One player who could play a big role in that collective effort is Warren, who missed most of the last two seasons with a foot injury. Since he returned to play a month and a half ago, Warren has averaged 10.5 points and 20.4 minutes. Against the Celtics, he scored 20 points in 28 minutes.
Vaughn said he wants to keep Warren’s minutes near 20 so he is healthy at the end of the year. At the same time, he is tempted to use him a little more. “We have a lot of games ahead of us," Vaughn said. "If he’s rolling, am I tempted? Every coach would be. But we’re hoping to put him in a position to succeed all year.”
Notes & quotes: Durant was the leading All-Star vote-getter when he was injured and Vaughn was asked if there has been any discussion of him playing in the game on Feb. 19 as he is expected to be voted in for a 13th time. Vaughn said there has been no discussion about whether he would play in the game. “I hope he’s [playing] and ready to rock and roll and back with us.”
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
