© Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports
Nets Rise In Injuries Causing 'Strain' To Lineup
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The Brooklyn Nets (6-8) have weathered a lot in the opening weeks of the regular season. After parting ways with the former head coach, Steve Nash, just two days later, the Nets handed superstar guard Kyrie Irving a team suspension that will stretch at least seven games Tuesday night.
Through the eye of the storm, Brooklyn has stayed afloat. In fact, the Nets have absorbed the adversity well, forging a 4-2 record since Irving's suspension. Despite carving out some wins, there has been a rise in injuries to several key rotation players. That has resulted in a 'strain' to the lineup.
"It just puts a strain on everyone else," Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn told reporters postgame Sunday night. "We put David Duke in, Patty [Mills] earlier, Markieff [Morris] earlier in our normal rotation. So, [coaching staff] tried to really use our group to get us to the end of the game. It puts a strain on us when we are not completely whole."
The Nets are combatting a series of injuries across the roster. Nic Claxton, who has taken huge steps in the first four weeks of the season, suffered a left eye contusion in Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. The injury resulted in Claxton missing a majority of the third quarter and the entire fourth, but the starting big man is probable for Tuesday's game in Sacramento - a contest that'll have the Nets big going up against a bruising big in Domantas Sabonis.
Ben Simmons, who is still finding himself on the hardwood, is battling the return of left knee soreness - an injury that initially cost him five-straight games. He did not suit up against the Lakers and is listed as questionable against the Kings. Yuta Watanabe, who returned after missing two contests with an ankle sprain, is also in the questionable boat Tuesday night, dealing with lower back soreness.
Seth Curry, who is coming off a big off-season ankle procedure, has shown bright spots in the five games he's played in but his nagging ankle does rise concerns. He's also listed as probable Tuesday night. TJ Warren, who just got cleared for contact work with coaches only, is not expected to make his Nets debut in the coming weeks. Veteran wing, Joe Harris - who is returning to play after undergoing two ankle surgeries last season - is being closely monitored by the medical staff.
Beyond the team embracing their 'next man up' mentality earlier than they hoped they would utilize it, a huge strain Brooklyn has needed to rely on his Kevin Durant and his high usage this early in the year.
Durant, who ranked fourth in minutes per game (37.0) Monday night, has seen a bump in his minutes over the last five contests. Managing the 34-year-old superstar's minutes is certainly a hard problem to nurse and Vaughn got his latest test of that Sunday night in LA.
In a game the Nets never held a lead, Brooklyn hit the 5:18 mark of the fourth quarter trailing 104-87. Instead of clearing the bench early, Vaughn kept Durant in the contest to spark hopes of a doubtful comeback. The head coach - who pulled Durant and cleared the bench shortly after (3:39 left) - stated he spoke with him before the final quarter about his minutes and foresaw the need for his superstar to play extended minutes in the second game of a back-to-back.
“I think he did his regular stint the third and then he and I talked about going into the fourth,” said Vaughn on playing Durant extended minutes in the fourth. “We knew he was going to have one more real good push for us. And so if we would have waited too long and brought him in at the six-minute mark, that thing might have been over it already so decided to run him and he ended up not playing the last four or five minutes anywhere the game.”
Looking ahead to Sacramento, the Nets split the season series against the Kings last season.
