Nets Practice Report: The Mood And The Plan Without Kevin Durant

The Brooklyn Nets held their first practice since forward Kevin Durant suffered an isolated MCL sprain in his right knee in Sunday's win over the Miami Heat.

The Nets, who will be without their cornerstone for likely a month, are missing Durant on the hardwood but are confident the team can survive without him on the hardwood.

"I mean, it's unfortunate. You never want to see anybody get injured and, you know, the best player in the world, he's out," said fourth-year big Nic Claxton following the team's practice at HSS Training Facility on Wednesday afternoon. "But guys got to step up. We've been in this position before, not this year, but in previous years so guys got to step up and take on a bigger role.

"Just our spirit, our energy, our vibes the way that we've been defending even though we're definitely going to miss him out there," Claxton continued. "I'm going to miss him out there on the defensive end, but yeah the way our principles, how solid we've been defensively, offensively we'll figure it out."

Durant, who is in 'good spirits' after suffering the MCL sprain in his right knee, was not seen after practice on Wednesday.

So what changes going forward with the 34-year-old superstar sidelined? Time will tell but days after getting the MRI results, don't expect any drastic changes.

Head coach Jacque Vaughn stated the KD-less Nets' schemes will not change. It's more about Brooklyn playing cleaner basketball due to the margin of error now being less affordable. More than anything, relying on what made the Nets the hottest team in basketball is what Brooklyn is banking on to stay above the tough waters.

“Our schemes won’t change. We’ll need to do things better, whether that is rebounding the basketball better because Kevin can make a shot for us and cover up some of our sins," Vaughn said post practice. "So the shot discrepancy can't be the same. We can't turn it over the same. So all the things that increase or decrease your margins, we just got to be better at. Nothing changes for our group. We play extremely hard and let everything else fall where it may.

“I think there are some areas that still we could get better at. We've improved whether that's not fouled. I think that's improved. The rebounding pieces still be an issue for us. I think we've been sharing the basketball pretty well. That’ll need to continue."

Now that an extended period of life without Durant on the hardwood is underway, Vaughn doesn't see any player taking on a different role to help patch the loss of the team's 29.7 point-per-game scorer. Of course, you can't replace him with a single player.

"I don't think anyone has to do anything that they haven't been doing," he said. "We need to be a little cleaner, a little tighter with our schemes but no huge changes philosophically of how are we going to approach this thing.”

Veteran wing T.J. Warren, who is averaging 19.9 minutes in 16 games played, will likely get an increase in his minute load with Durant out. The Nets head coach made it clear the main goal is for Warren to remain healthy till the postseason, shutting down any possibility the wing will see a 40-minute stint on the hardwood.

In terms of Ben Simmons, who did not address the media after Wednesday's practice, he will be tasked with playing with extended force through each 48-minute contest. In the words of Vaughn, that'll be a 'necessity' for the group.

"The next step is to play every possession with force. The beginning of a possession all the way to the end of it," said Vaughn on Simmons. "That becomes a habit that you consistently [do] from possession to possession and game to game. So the pace that he’s going to create for us, the easy shots that he has to create for us because of the pace, it’s a necessity. And looking forward to it."

The last time Durant was sidelined for an extended period of time due to injury was last season (Jan. 15 - Mar. 3). The Nets superstar suffered an MCL Sprain in the opposite knee, which sidelined him for a total of 21 games. The team went on to suffer an 11-game losing skid, that ended in a woeful 5-16 record and the derailing of the season.

Vaughn, who declined to disclose what grade Durant's MCL sprain is, doesn't want to hear any excuses in the tough stretch ahead without Durant.

"No excuses. That’s the biggest thing for this group. To [be in] the position last year where we were, I just say no excuses," said Vaughn on whether the Nets are better equipped to handle Durant out compared to last season. "Not giving this group a chance to make excuses. Here to play. Here to win. Here to compete. Doesn’t change.

"I think this group has shown they have the resolve and they have the ability to fight, and the belief. You just take the finish of the game [in] Miami. We’re down nine and we end up winning the basketball game with Kevin on the floor. So I think that’s a direct reflection of this group. I think they’re looking forward to playing and trying to win and figure it out together. So hopefully this group is in a better place mentally and physically to handle this challenge."