The NBA regular season continues, and earlier today, the Nets officially received bad news. In yesterday's Nets game against the Pelicans, Durant was knocked to his knee by teammate Brown on a defensive trip. After receiving an MRI examination today, the Nets officially announced: Durant sprained the medial collateral ligament of his left knee, and after a period of recovery, Durant is expected to recover to his best condition. Woj then added that the Nets were optimistic inside that Durant could make a comeback after 4-6 weeks of rehabilitation.
That said, Durant was injured for 4-6 weeks, at least a month, and that's just the Nets' official optimism. In Durant's 4-6 weeks of absence, Durant probably missed about 20 games. So this is very bad for the Nets, Durant has played in 36 games for the team so far this season, averaging 36.4 minutes per game, can score 29.3 points (league first), 7.4 boards, 5.8 assists, 0.8 breaks 0.9 blocks. Durant is definitely the Nets' most reliable offensive point, and after losing Durant, the Nets have one less firepower point to rely on.
Fortunately, 11 of the Nets' 14 games were away from home, which means that Kyrie Irving was able to accompany the team in these 11 away games. When Durant rests, the Nets' offensive system will also be greatly affected, which will also require the rest of the team to stand up during this time, and the Nets also need to get through this difficult time during the critical period of the season. Irving also said in an interview that he very much hopes to help Harden and Durant win the championship, and he cherishes the time he spends playing with his teammates.
After his return, Irving is in good shape, after all, he did not come back from injury, he has been training during his suspension. But the NBA is not a training ground after all, and Irving still needs time to adapt to the rhythm of the NBA. In addition, the Nets have added many new faces this season, and Irving will have to spend time adapting to the new players. I believe that Irving can also quickly regain all-star status.
There is a more embarrassing data, since Harden joined the Nets to make his debut at the Nets, harden, Irving, Durant three giants appeared together in only 16 games. In the next game, if you want to see the big three appear at the same time, it is conservatively estimated that it will take about 2 months.
According to the Nets' schedule for the next time, they will usher in a wave of four consecutive away games, and after that, 11 of their next 14 games will be away games, which means that Irving and Harden can lead the team together. According to the statistics of the US media, last season in Durant was absent, and Harden and Irving played in the game, the Nets record was 16 wins and 3 losses. In the absence of Durant and Irving, and Harden played, the Nets had a record of 4 wins and 2 losses, while when Irving led the team alone, the Nets had a record of 4 wins and 5 losses.
Now that Durant has an injury, the Nets need to be more careful about the health of players on the team and can't get any more injuries. Durant's injury this time has sounded a wake-up call for Nash, and the use of Durant should be appropriately reduced for some time, as should Harden and Irving, and if hardened Irving continues to be used excessively, the possibility of injury to the two is not ruled out.