Kyrie Irving referred to as it one of many scariest performs in basketball, a sequence that turned goals into nightmares through the Nets’ unbelievable 102-101 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday.
Heat star Jimmy Butler went up for a layup within the remaining minute of the third quarter, and after Ben Simmons blocked him on the rim, Butler landed and barreled straight into Kevin Durant’s proper knee.
It was the second time Durant harm the identical knee on the evening after colliding with Heat guard Kyle Lowry earlier within the recreation. The first time, Durant grabbed at his knee then performed via the ache. The second time, he did the identical factor, enjoying two extra possessions earlier than asking out of the sport. Durant hunched over subsequent to the scorer’s desk earlier than strolling on to the locker room.
The Nets later dominated him out the rest of the sport with an unspecified proper knee harm. He will bear an MRI on Monday and his standing for Thursday’s matchup in opposition to the Boston Celtics is unsure — if not unlikely.
There’s lots to have a good time after the Nets held on to defeat Butler, Bam Adebayo and the Heat on Sunday. The Nets have received 18 out of 20 video games for the primary time in franchise historical past. They received with out Durant on a game-winning tip-in from Royce O’Neale. They proved they’ve the depth it takes to compete with the Eastern Conference’s elite. Jacque Vaughn went toe-to-toe with heralded Heat coach Erik Spoelstra — and got here out on prime.
If Durant is out an prolonged time period, nevertheless, as a consequence of his knee harm, these might very properly all be footnotes. Last season, Durant suffered an identical harm when Bruce Brown crashed into his left knee in a freak incident nearly a 12 months in the past in the present day in a Jan. 15 matchup in opposition to the New Orleans Pelicans. Like that recreation, the Nets held on to win.
What occurred after that recreation, nevertheless, would ship a promising begin to the season crashing down. After Durant sustained a Grade 2 MCL sprain final season, he missed a month and a half of motion and the Nets went on an 11-game shedding streak that despatched them from first within the East to tenth within the convention.
“I think it’s hard to foreshadow exactly what’s gonna happen,” sharpshooter Joe Harris stated postgame. “We don’t even know the severity of the injury. Maybe he’s gonna be out. So it’s a lot of hypotheticals, but what we do know is we have a lot of depth, so that’s a positive for us.”
Every crew has a worst-case state of affairs. In the blink of a watch, the Nets are staring worst-case within the face.
For all of the strides the Nets have taken, the years-long actuality continues to ring true in Brooklyn: with out Durant, the Nets are a tier decrease of basketball crew. A crew that has confirmed it belongs with the East’s elite after catching fireplace within the month of December now faces 21 potential playoff opponents of their subsequent 23 video games.
And it’s unclear if Durant can be again in time for any of them.
“With (Kevin), we know what we’re up against with him not being in the lineup,” Irving stated postgame. “We can say it every single day, but we don’t have time for any excuses. We just gotta keep moving forward and stay mature about it.”
Irving, Durant’s closest pal within the roster, stated Durant was in good spirits after watching the fourth quarter from the locker room.
“The strength of our team is us picking each other up and just being ready for whatever’s thrown at us,” he stated.
But clearly, if Durant misses an prolonged time period, every part should change for the Nets to proceed successful video games in opposition to high quality opponents. For starters, Durant’s first basket of the evening moved him previous Dominique Wilkins for 14th place on the NBA’s all-time main scorer’s record. Durant averages probably the most environment friendly 30 factors per recreation in NBA historical past. No one participant — not to mention a participant on Brooklyn’s roster — can fill his sneakers.
“I just think obviously our strategy is pretty clear that me and (Kevin) are leading predominantly most of the offense and we have incredible shooters, incredible talented basketball players around us, and now I think it shapes into all-around offense and guys being ready to play and make an impact out there,” stated Irving, who completed with 29 factors on the evening. “I think one of the greatest qualities of our team is our bench and the way we support each other despite who’s in the lineup, and now it’s time to go out and exemplify that until we figure out the timeline of K and when he can be available again, so just gotta be mature about it.”
That means it’s going to return right down to teaching. It’s going to return right down to effort. It’s going to return right down to gamers like TJ Warren, Yuta Watanabe and Joe Harris, who every mission to see their minutes spike if Durant should miss an prolonged time period. More of a scoring load can be positioned on Irving’s shoulders. Simmons should be extra aggressive on the lookout for his shot, and Seth Curry — who scored 14 factors off the bench in opposition to the Heat — should play extra minutes as a result of he’s the next-most succesful playmaker after Irving and Simmons in a world the place Durant is just not accessible.
The Nets have lots going for them. They have discovered methods to win when successful appeared unlikely. With Durant sidelined, successful could possibly be unlikely for a while with the variety of high quality opponents on the docket within the coming weeks.
Irving, nevertheless, was grateful the harm wasn’t worse.
“I was right there. Those plays are scary because when someone’s not looking at what’s going on, anything can happen in those moments,” he stated. “So I’m grateful that all that time he’s out in the weight room, putting his body in a great position, his body was able to save him from something worse.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com
