On December 12, Beijing time, the Nets announced the injury report against the Pistons tomorrow, of which a total of 6 people were absent from the whole team, and Harden ushered in the first personal truce of the season. After leading the team for 26 consecutive games, Harden, who has been struggling to find form, was finally able to get a break.
As can be seen from the injury report released by the Nets, the 6 players who will miss this game are: Harden (rotational suspension), Harris (left ankle surgery suspension), Millsap (individual reasons suspension), Edwards and Sharp (delegated to the development league), Irving (not returned)!
Of those 6 players, besides Irving, the biggest influence on the Nets is obviously Harden. Harden has played 26 consecutive games so far this season, and although his form has not fully recovered, as a team giant, he is one of the two most trusted players in Nash's hands. So far this season, Harden has played a total of 942 minutes in 26 games, ranking first in the team, averaging 36.2 minutes per game, ranking second in the team, while Durant has played 871 minutes, ranking second in the team, averaging 36.3 minutes per game, ranking first in the team, but he has already rested 2 games before, and Harden has not rested. In the last game against the Hawks, Harden played 41 minutes, contributing 20 points, 5 rebounds and 11 assists while making six turnovers.
Harden is truce, and although they have to face the Pistons, the bottom of the East, Durant will still face a huge challenge. The two teams have met twice this season, and the Nets have not won easily, although the strength is above the opponent, but in the absence of Harden, Durant can imagine the degree of baggage. In the case of strict defense, how Durant does a good job of personal shots and the balance of driving the attack of his teammates will be the key to this game, only by allowing other teammates to better participate in the attack, Durant will not be too tired, and fall into the entanglement of the opponent, to avoid like harden single-core team to play rockets, and finally lost to the opponent.
Of course, since the Nets want to take a break from Harden, it means that even if they lose this game, it is expected and acceptable, after all, this season's Nets have been different from last season, even if the double core team, in many games are very difficult to play, the difficulty of single core team can be imagined. But it is precisely this that shows that Nash's coaching thinking is also changing, he is no longer just blindly pursuing the regular season to win and use the main force, but knows how to give the two giants a break at the right time, avoid the playoffs, once again have the same injury problems as last season, and finally fail. In addition to the change of thinking on the main force of the rotation, Nash has also made great progress in the adjustment of the lineup compared with last season. For example, in recent games, the use of Ade and Clarkston has reflected his improvement in reading matches and on-the-spot adaptability.