When Kevin Durant went down with a sprained left knee on Jan. 15 against the Pelicans, the Brooklyn Nets stood in second place in the Eastern Conference at 27-15. When he returned, they were in eighth place at 32-31. As of Monday, they sit in tenth place at 40-38.
Following Monday morning practice, Durant reflected on the Nets’ regular season as they prepare to fight for a spot in the postseason play-in tournament:
“To be honest, I feel like our season was derailed by my injury. I’m not looking at it as like a ‘we’re just not a good basketball team.’ There wasn’t a lot of continuity with me and Kyrie out of the lineup. That’s just what it is. When we’re all on the floor together, I like what we got.”
Durant has been stellar since he returned, averaging 32.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 7.0 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 53.5 percent from the field and 43.2 percent from three. KD put up a career-high 55 points in a close loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.
The Nets have the same record as the ninth-seeded Charlotte Hornets but don’t have the tiebreaker and are one game behind the Hawks for eighth place. Brooklyn faces Houston tomorrow, the Knicks on Wednesday, Cleveland on Friday, and the Pacers on Sunday.
