The Brooklyn Nets have been plagued with injuries as well as circumstances out of their control all season. With Kevin Durant missing a good portion of the season due to his hamstring and Kyrie Irving missing games due to both COVID-19 protocols and personal reasons, the main concern of the Nets is maintaining a strong dynamic with their Big 3.
Nets head coach Steve Nash gave his stance on where his team stands in the regular season and the steps they need to take heading into the playoffs, via Tom Moore of Bucks County Courier Times:
#Nets coach Steve Nash: 'We may not get any (more regular-season) games with our whole roster. … In a sense, that's irrelevant. We don't control that.' #Sixers
— Tom Moore (@TomMoorePhilly) April 14, 2021
#Nets coach Steve Nash said it's more important to be healthy for mid-May start of playoffs than a mid-April regular-season game. Would be ideal to do both. #Sixers
— Tom Moore (@TomMoorePhilly) April 14, 2021
#Nets coach Steve Nash: 'We thought about (playing Durant tonite after he had 31 points vs. Timberwolves Tuesday).' Durant had missed 22 games with hamstring issue prior to appearing in past 3. Nash said Brooklyn could've lost to Wolves Tuesday if Durant sat, then lost today.
— Tom Moore (@TomMoorePhilly) April 14, 2021
This last tweet was in reference to the loss against the Los Angeles Lakers without LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Kyle Kuzma. The Nets sustained a worrisome loss against the Lakers, as they lost by 25 points without Durant, Irving, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Blake Griffin in the lineup.
With the recent acquisitions of Aldridge and Griffin, Nash and the coaching staff will have to continue to see what combinations of star players and solid role players will be the most efficient. Hopefully, these changes are set in stone well before the playoffs, but it may take some time for Nash to figure out this puzzle, especially with their entire roster not being available.
The Nets are currently second in the Eastern Conference and the favorites to win the championship by many. However, with the Nets facing so many uncertainties in the regular season, some may wonder how they will face against teams such as the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks. Nash's playoff-centered mentality will force the Nets to use the regular season as a time to smooth out these uncertainties to the best of their abilities.
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