The Brooklyn Nets currently spots ninth in the Eastern Conference with a 32-33 record in the regular season. And the fascinating thing about the stat is, they are only 2.5 games off the New York Knicks who are in 12th position. The Nets team that formed one of the greatest super-teams about one year back are just 2.5 games away from being knocked out of the play-in altogether. CAN DURANT DO IT WITH THE NETS? Of a truth, it is quite unlikely they let themselves fall that far down the standings, as in all likelihood, Brooklyn will just about nab the eighth seed in the playoffs this year. But that still puts them very far away from their end goal of a championship. Sure, getting some injured players back will help, but this Nets run will ultimately come down to one man – Kevin Durant. When Durant plays this season, the Nets are 24-14. When he doesn’t play, they are 8-19. That is a pretty stark difference, especially with how close they are to being knocked out of the play-in. Be that as it may, Durant is back now. He made his return to the court against the Miami Heat on Thursday night, and although Miami took home the win, Durant managed to put up 31 points on the night, and on Sunday against the Boston Celtics, where he surpassed the 25,000 point mark, he garnered 37 points in a 126-120 defeat to the C’s. He did offer an honest assessment of his latest record after the game: “It’s pretty cool,” Durant said. “I should be at 30 thousand right now, to be honest. But it’s cool, it’s cool to reach that milestone and be amongst the greats and I just got to keep pushing and keep going and see where I end up.”
.@KDTrey5 hits the 25K milestone 👏 pic.twitter.com/KeoLxQhUHb — NBA TV (@NBATV) March 6, 2022
MAYBE NOT THIS SEASON In reality, it was not the most efficient 37 in the world, but the fact that the Nets, who have been struggling massively of late, only lost to the Celtics by six shows the impact one player can have. Sure, having Kyrie Irving playing again and Ben Simmons available to play will certainly boost the chances of the Nets, but if they want any chance at a championship, things are going to run through Durant, and I am certain avid followers of the franchise are relieved to have their man back on court. The question begging an answer is, is the Championship going to happen this season? Probably not. But Durant is one of the few players in the NBA who is good enough to drag a team to a Title run on his own. Again, it’s not very likely, but if the Nets can drag themselves into the playoffs, maybe Durant can drag them all the way to a title. He is just that good.
The Best Player in The World is Back 🔥 Brooklyn Nets Kevin Durant #Netsworld pic.twitter.com/sr7zbOs1Vc — NetsKingdom 👑🗽 (@NetsKingdomAJ) March 2, 2022