Hoops fans were witnesses to a scary sight on Saturday when Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant limped off the floor during their game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Midway through the second quarter, Bruce Brown fell towards Durant's legs, forcing the two-time Finals MVP's knees to buckle in an awkward way. Durant tried to walk it off but ultimately left the court and hobbled to the locker room, though on his power.
After undergoing MRI on Sunday, the Nets received the good news that Durant avoided significant injury. Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the two-time NBA champion was officially diagnosed with a sprained left knee. Brooklyn is hopeful that Durant will have a four-to-six-week timeline to recover from his injury.
While the Nets avoided a major disaster, not having KD for an extended period could pose problems. However, there could be some underlying positives the Nets can take away from the 11-time All-Star's injury.
3 reasons Kevin Durant's injury could be blessing in disguise for Nets
3. A lesson for Steve Nash
It's arguable that this was a freak injury that could have been avoided. Still, perhaps the heavy workload may have taken its toll on the 33-year old body of Durant.
Nash has shown a willingness to walk the tight rope with regards to KD's minutes. The four-time scoring champion averaged over 40 minutes throughout the 2021 NBA Playoffs. Through Games 3 to 7 of their second round series against the Milwaukee Bucks, Durant logged over 45 minutes a game, including going full 48 in Game 5 and playing all 53 in their overtime Game 7 loss.
And through a 19-game stretch from November 17 to January 10, Nash was logging Durant nearly 40 minutes a game. Maybe this injury finally forces Nash's hand to dial back KD's playing time when he returns. There's really no reason for him to play this many minutes during the regular season.
At this point, having their franchise superstar 100% healthy for the playoffs should be priority no. 1 for the Nets. They should exercise caution with him when he returns.
2. Accelerate Cam Thomas' growth
As the NBA's leading scorer at 29.3 points per game, Durant obviously carries a bulk of the offensive load for the Nets. With him out for at least a month, this could open up an opportunity for Thomas to step up.
Thomas has actually been finding his footing in the Nets' last six outings. Through this stretch, the 20-year-old rookie averaged 14.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.3 steals, while shooting 51.4% from the field.
Taken 27th overall in the 2021 NBA Draft, Brooklyn has found a gem in the former LSU star. Thomas was a gifted scorer coming out of college and he's shown flashes of that in his very young NBA career. It's evident the 6-foot-4 guard possesses a savvy offensive bag.
With Durant's injury, Thomas will get a chance to play a bigger role. Perhaps this could also accelerate the development of the promising stud. If he grows and gains more confidence in Durant's absence, he could play a key role for the Nets down the line, especially in the postseason.
1. Lower seed means more Kyrie Irving
If the Nets continue to struggle without Durant, they'll likely take a bump down in the Eastern Conference standings. They had already been falling in the win-loss column, dropping to third place behind the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat. After the Nets lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday, they are now just one game above the Cavs.
Cleveland is having a Cinderella campaign and is riding the momentum of a five-game winning streak. Meanwhile, the Nets are slumping and could continue to fall if the trends continue.
Normally, dropping out of the fourth seed wouldn't be something a team would want as it would not grant them homecourt advantage in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. But the Nets have a tricky situation on their hands. Given Irving's unvaccinated status, he isn't allowed to play at Barclays Center and is only able to play on the road.
While there were rumblings that the Nets star point guard could eventually become a full-time player, recent reports suggest that Irving isn't changing his stance on the vaccine. With that, it will be status quo for Brooklyn moving forward.
Given this circumstance, are we even sure the team wants homecourt advantage in the postseason? Maybe the Nets would prefer to play four road games in a series if it means having Irving for those four games. If this is the route they want to go, the no. 5 or no. 6 seed would be the sweet spot. Falling beyond that isn't ideal because of the play-in tournament.
Nonetheless, this is an intriguing situation. And it could turn into a blessing in disguise if the Nets drop in the standings with Durant on the sidelines.
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