Stalled during Durant’s absence last season, can he avoid a second chance?
Nets forward Kevin Durant is expected to miss about a month with a right knee injury, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
With 1 minute and 5 seconds left in the 3rd quarter of the heat match on the 8th, Jimmy Butler tried to attack, but was blocked by Ben Simmons and lost his balance, putting his weight on the knee of Durant who was nearby. collapsed. After collapsing with him in the process, Durant continued to play while gesticulating his right knee before quickly stepping back to the bench.
Last January, Durant missed six weeks with the same left knee injury, but Wojnarowski said the Nets won’t be out for more than four weeks and will be back in less time than last year’s injury. It is said that he has confidence in I plan to have another MRI scan in the next two weeks to see how well I’m recovering.
A year ago, during Durant’s absence, the Nets went 5-17, including an 11-game losing streak. Durant was 27-15 before he left, but his savings were gone when he returned. And now, the Nets are in almost the same situation as a year ago, with 27 wins and 13 losses.
The Nets got off to a 1-5 start this season, and Kyrie Irving also dropped out due to off-court issues. However, due to the efforts of role players such as Nicholas Claxton, Royce O’Neill, and Yuta Watanabe, centering on Durant, the team recovered and rose to 2nd place in the East Conference. The next month will be a big moment for the Nets to see if they can keep this good run going in Durant’s absence.
Durant has appeared in 39 games so far, averaging 29.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists. Furthermore, the field goal success rate was 55.9%, a personal best, and it was the first time in a big wheel. It goes without saying that individual players need to step up to fill Durant’s void. Simmons, who has averaged 7.7 points so far, which is about half of his career average (15.1), while Irving plays a key role in the offense, and TJ, who returned in December after a long absence of about two years and has accumulated actual fighting experience. Warren and others need to be more involved in scoring. Also, Yuta Watanabe is expected to be more aggressive with his strong 3-point shot.