Kevin Durant's 31 points in return as Brooklyn Nets fall to shorthanded Miami Heat
Published: March 3, 2021 US time
Publisher: ESPN
Article author: Nick Freder
Article translated by de Gaulle
Finally, after waiting for nearly a month and a half, Nets fans at the Barclays Center finally looked back to their number one star, Kevin Durant. During Durant's time off, the Nets struggled quite well, both on the court and in record, and they desperately needed Durant, the "savior," to lead them out of the sea of suffering. In fact, Durant almost did it.
Because of his left knee injury, Durant has been hanging a free card since the January 16 game against the Pelicans. For such a player with a history of serious injuries, Every injury stop by Durant will make people worry. But as long as he can get back on the court, Durant will immediately use his performance to dispel all doubts. In this game with the Heat, Durant played 35 minutes and had 31 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. He performed on the pitch as he did before he was injured.
"I felt great," Durant said after the game, "it felt great. Next, I'm just going to get better and better, more and more comfortable on the pitch. As the number of games accumulates, I will slowly take on more responsibilities. So, I feel good now. ”
As Durant said, the performance he presented was indeed very good. After missing out on his first two athletic shots, he immediately found the rhythm of the attack. Under his leadership, the Nets' offensive system has finally regained its vitality, once establishing a lead of up to 16 points. However, the Nets' lineup is still incomplete after all, there is no Irving at home, and the traded Simmons is still recovering, so the 16-point advantage cannot protect them for too long. In the end, the Nets lost the game 107-113, suffering three consecutive losses.
In an interview after the game, reporters also mentioned that Durant himself seems to have regained the feeling of the game without time, so how long does it take for such a team as the Nets to return to the state he was in before his injury? Durant doesn't seem to have as much confidence in himself on this issue. "It could take one, it could take 20," Durant said, "and the key is to get on the pitch and see what model works for us." There's no fixed formula or guideline to refer to, and you'll only perceive it when the chemistry is established, because that's a natural thing. ”
As Durant said, the Nets are now like a scrambled jigsaw puzzle, and many elements take time to combine and try. In addition to the aforementioned Irving and Simmons, just before Durant returned to a game, the Nets received bad news that Joe Harris, who sprained his ankle after only 14 games this season, has decided to undergo surgery for treatment, which means that Harris will miss all the games later in the season.
"While Joe (Harris) has worked very hard over the past few months to recover, tried various ways and desperately wants to get back to his teammates, the current situation is that he has to undergo an additional arthroscopic surgery in the coming weeks," said Nets general manager Sean Max. ”
In his 14 games this season, Harris averaged 11.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists for the Nets. As an outside shooter, Harris maintains a 46.6% three-point shooting rate and can average 2.9 three-pointers per game for the Nets, which is an important firepower point on the team's outside line and a very strategic player. His early end to the season was a very heavy blow to the Nets.
For the Nets, they seem to have been accompanied by similar "bad news" this season. Even Durant's return to such a promising point in time cannot avoid such a situation. And Joe Harris said goodbye to the season completely on the same day that Durant returned, which undoubtedly put more pressure on Durant.
"I don't see myself as a savior-like figure," Durant said before the game against the Heat, "but I know exactly what I can do and how I can help the team." However, I don't plan to play and win by myself. I want to be a good teammate and do what I have to do. I know exactly what I can bring to the team, and I want to try to maximize my abilities. ”
Although the ideal is very good, the reality of the battle with the Heat still makes Durant realize that the current Nets, the Nets that have only won 5 wins and 18 losses without him, are still far from his goal.
In fact, the Heat, who came to challenge the Nets, the lineup is relatively more untidy than the Nets. Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry and P.J. Tucker, the three absolute main players, were all out of the game, and this was the nets' perfect opportunity to end the losing streak by taking advantage of Durant's return. But with 30 points, 11 rebounds and six assists on the inside, plus 20+ points from Strus, Martin and Hiro, the more holistic Heat eventually left the Barclays Center with a win.
"Overall, it was a game we should have won," said Jacques Vaughan, the Nets' acting coach, "and I told the players after the game that they should have been disappointed by the result because it was a game we should have won." ”
Of course, for the Nets, their future is still promising. Durant returned to the first game to show good form, New York City is expected to lift the covid-19 vaccine restrictions, which allows Irving to see the dawn of a return to the home game. Moreover, the Nets are still in the top eight in the East, and there are still 2 wins ahead of the Hornets behind them. But apparently, that's not a ranking and result that Durant and the Nets can accept.
"We know our rankings," Durant said, "and everyone is talking to us day in and day out, making us realize how many places we've fallen from where we were before." We understand the situation today and the importance of every day's effort. So, we're going to focus on each game and stick to making up for those mistakes. ”