The Brooklyn Nets have relied on Kevin Durant’s scoring class to stay in first place in the NBA Eastern Conference, but the physique of a player who is 33 years old and coming from a serious injury cannot be abused. when he was part of the Golden State Warriors.
One data that raises the alarm is related to the average of minutes (40.3) of the stellar player in the last five Nets games, where he was key to getting three of five wins, including a very important victory against the New York Knicks.
Kevin Durant is averaging 40.4 minutes in his last 5 games. pic.twitter.com/IolfMRpXPH
— StatMuse (@statmuse) December 8, 2021
Despite not counting on Kyrie Irving for his refusal to get vaccinated, coach Steve Nash must give his top star more breathing space, letting bench men like Patty Mills increase their prominence on offense. Otherwise, the team runs a tremendous risk of losing Durant at some point in the season to muscle overload.
By taking away some of Durant’s presence on the court, it would increase the responsibility in the work of a James Harden who in his first full season with the Nets averages per game: 20.7 points, 9.6 assists and 7.9 rebounds.
Kevin Durant played every minute of the second half of the Nets’ 102-99 win over the Maverick on Tuesday. And he wants to play more.@krisplashed https://t.co/KhDrFT3u7T
— NY Daily News Sports (@NYDNSports) December 8, 2021
It is obvious and understandable that Nash wants to keep his best man on the court but he must know how to handle the situation, especially when we are talking about a player who since his serious injury with the Warriors in 2019, has barely added 58 appearances in the NBA.
The arrival of Irving would greatly facilitate the work of the Canadian coach due to the fact that he could count on his three figures. In the meantime, a way must be found so that Harden and Durant don’t accumulate more than 40 minutes, for the sake of the franchise’s aspirations to pursue the title.
In the last five games, where he averages just over 40 minutes, the former member of the Golden State Warriors has 29.6 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists. Numbers that keep him in the elite of the NBA, but at the same time generate some concern within basketball fans about overwork.
Kevin Durant: “I know people might be concerned about my minutes and I got injured before and all this extra s—, but we’ll figure it out if I get there. Right now, I want to play basketball.
“I might play 48 tomorrow. Just ‘cause. Give y’all something to talk about.” https://t.co/SB82pJ2fuy
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) December 8, 2021
Faced with the complex situation, Durant said: “I know that there are people who are worried about my minutes and the injuries I suffered before, but I will find a way to be there on the court. I want to play basketball ”. The fighting attitude of the strong forward is applauded and it is the coach who has to make the decision to seat him at certain moments of the match.
No matter which team you follow, we all want a player like Kevin Durant to stay healthy, so for the sake of basketball, let’s hope that coach Steve Nash will give some thought to his team’s rotation heading into the second half of the game. NBA season 2021-22.
