On January 17, Beijing time, the Nets officially released Durant's injury report, Durant had a sprain of the medial collateral ligament of his left knee during the game with the Pelicans, he is expected to miss 4-6 weeks, if the recovery effect does not meet expectations, Durant's absence may be extended. Durant will be absent for such a long time, which will have a great impact on the team, because the current Nets record is not stable enough, and Irving can only play away at this stage, not play home, and at present, among the big three, only Harden can play home games. For now, the Nets want to stabilize their top 4 in the East during Durant's absence, and Nash head coach can only rely on Harden's play.
So far in the new season, the Nets have a record of 27 wins and 15 losses, ranking second in the East, although they are only 0.5 wins away from the Bulls, but their advantage over the teams behind them is not obvious. Philadelphia, ranked 5th in the East, is only 2 wins away from the Nets, and the Philadelphia team is currently in hot form, they have won many consecutive games, and the lineup is relatively complete, if the Nets can not achieve more victories in subsequent games, then they have the probability of falling out of the top 4 in the East.
In Durant's absence, the Nets' schedule is still more challenging, and they need to face the impact of strong teams such as the Warriors, Jazz, Nuggets and Suns, many of which are played at home. In Durant's absence and Irving's inability to play at home, the only player in the big three who can play at home is Harden.
In this case, the Nets want to win the game, and the team can only rely on Harden's personal play to drive the performance of the whole team. In this season's game, Harden's single-core team ability performance is not bad, the team wins more and loses less, the offensive and defensive efficiency is also very good, and other players can also play a very good performance under the leadership of Harden. In terms of leading the team, Harden is still trustworthy.
However, if this continues for a long time, it still has a certain impact on Harden's physical state, after all, in the home game, the team only has Harden as a star, and in the face of the impact of other teams, even if Harden is strong, it is difficult for the team to win all.
In the absence of Durant and Irving can not play at home, the Nets want to win more at home, to maintain their top four positions in the East, the other players on the team need to have better performances, such as several rookies Edwards, Sharp and Thomas, etc., this is a time for them to show their talents, if they can fill the impact of Durant's absence on the team, then Harden will get more help, the team will maintain its competitiveness in the game, Be able to win more.
Injuries have been an obstacle to the Nets' progress, and since the Formation of the Big Three, they have rarely played in games at the same time for their own reasons. After Irving's return this season, the Big Three have only played two games, and Durant will be out for about a month due to injury, which is regrettable. But regardless, the Nets' goal this season is the playoffs, to impact the championship, and the regular season record is not so important. In Durant's absence, if Irving plays well in the away game, and in Irving's absence, Harden performs well, while other players can also stand up, then it is believed that the Nets' record will not decline too much, and they still have a chance to stabilize the top 4 in the East.