By T.A. January 23, 2023
On January 8, 2023, Kevin Durant injured the MCL of his left knee and was ruled to be out for at least a month.
The Brooklyn Nets had a similar tale last season with a Kevin Durant injury. In the 2021/22 season, Brooklyn had a terrible record of 8 wins to 19 losses after Durant’s injury and had a difficult time barely surviving to make it into the play-in tournament.
“I don’t think we are going to struggle without KD,” Nets star Kyrie Irving said in a recent post-game interview after Brooklyn’s loss to the OKC,” This isn’t last year at all, The Comparisons should just stop”
With Brooklyn’s last two games, Kyrie has proven that this year may really be nothing compared to last year. The Nets are breathing signs of life. The Nets presently are 2 and 4 in the 6 games played without Kevin Durant during this injury. Although the last two games were victories, it says a lot about how poised the Brooklyn Nets can be.
The first four games that The Nets lost without KD were a kind of Shock therapy for the Nets. Brooklyn has seemed to bounce back to being poised and playing good basketball.
The leadership of Kyrie has been unquestionably scintillating during the last 2 games. Kyrie should be Crowned the King of the fourth quarter as he is currently leading the league with the highest number of points in the fourth quarter averaging 9.2 points.
The Nets have also adapted to scoring more without Kevin Durant. The beautiful thing about the Nets is how the team has adapted to reducing the number of turnovers they make during their last few games. Kyrie himself has had only 3 turnovers in the last 3 games.
If the Nets lose it’s because of Kevin Durant’s absence….. If the Nets win it’s because of Kyrie’s Versatility.
Although one beautiful thing about Brooklyn’s recent play is how other Brooklyn role players have been stepping up in the absence of Durant(They literally have since the beginning of the season!!!). The versatility of the Nets team is spellbinding even without KD. The Golden State game is one of many examples
The Nets were down one point(115-116) in the fourth quarter. Although the Nets’ winning campaign started when Claxton caught the rebound for Steph’s missed two-point shot. Claxton then passed the ball to Kyrie. Kyrie managed to dribble the Ball into the the lane, while the ball was contested for by Klay Thompson, and there and then with 30 seconds left on the game clock, Kyrie made the most intuitive move of the entire game by passing the ball to Royce O’ Neal (outside the arc) who sealed the winning 3 pointer for the Nets. Bringing Brooklyn up 2 points( 118-116).
The Brooklyn Nets players have everyone playing their roles as best as possible. Seth Curry has been on fire and Joe Harris seems to be getting back to his rhythm.
The second player the Nets have to enable them to survive with KD’s absence in the Next few games is Nic Claxton. Nic Claxton has stepped up his game to an All-Star level on both the offensive and defensive end of the court in the last few games. The problem with Claxton is his free throws.
The Nets need to hire a shooting Coach or something…..
Claxton making the Free throws against the Suns would have potentially sealed an unbelievable comeback. Opposing teams will find joy in fouling Claxton at the paint because they know Clankston can’t shoot from the free throw line.
Going back to the game 4 of the playoffs series between Brooklyn and Boston…. Claxton making the free throw would have earned the Nets the integrity of not getting swept.
The X factor for the Brooklyn Nets remains Ben Simmons.” Ben Simmons is stealing money from the Brooklyn Nets” said ESPN’s first take host Steven A Smith, and I definitely believe so as well.
Ben Simmmons has to step up his game especially now while Kevin Durant is out. If not the Nets should find ways of trading him over to another team.
The Nets are also seeking to acquire a Big Center before the trade deadline. A big man would be needed by the Nets when facing guys like Robert Williams of the Boston Celtics or Joel Embiid of the Sixers.
The Nets need both size and girth.
The Nets surviving the next matchups they face will determine how equipped the Brooklyn Nets will be for the playoffs. The Nets will be facing top teams like Boston, 76ers and the Clippers in the span of the next few games.
The upcoming matchups of the Nets are not looking very friendly to them. Get back soon KD!!!!
