The Brooklyn Nets are nowhere near where they imagined they would be at the start of the 2021-22 NBA season. Instead of fighting for the top of the Eastern Conference, the Nets are currently holding onto the 10th spot and place in the Play-In tournament.
Speaking about his team’s struggles on Monday, superstar Kevin Durant said he believes the Nets’ shortcomings this season result from the knee injury he has been dealing with.
“To be honest, I feel like our season was derailed by my injury,” Durant said. “So I’m not looking at it like we’re just not a good basketball team.”
Durant was an early MVP candidate at the start of the season but suffered a sprained MCL in mid-January. The injury sidelined him for almost two months, causing the Nets to slip in the standings.
The 33-year-old player added that things would be different if he and his All-Star teammate Kyrie Irving were able to play. Irving was limited to away games for the better part of the year due to New York City’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
It’s like there wasn’t a lot of continuity with me and Kyrie [Irving] out of the lineup, that’s just what it is,” he explained. “When we’re all on the floor together I like what we got.”
When healthy, Kevin Durant was one of the best basketball players on the planet. He averaged 30.1 points per game on 52.4 percent shooting while also adding 7.3 rebounds and career-high 6.1 assists per game.
