Kevin Durant to Return from Injury Maintenance vs. Heat; Irving, Harden Active
Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant will return from a one-game absence for Achilles maintenance to play in Saturday's clash with the Miami Heat.
Brian Lewis of the New York Post noted Kyrie Irving and James Harden will also be active for Brooklyn, bringing together the team's new Big Three for just the second time.
Durant missed the entire 2019-20 season, his first year with the Nets, while recovering from a ruptured Achilles suffered during the 2019 NBA Finals while with the Golden State Warriors. He'll continue to receive occasional nights off, especially in back-to-back situations, to remain fresh.
The 32-year-old 10-time All-Star explained before the season started he understood efforts to avoid a setback but didn't want it to happen during crunch time when he's active.
"In a game, when coach tries to pull me out early unexpectedly, of course I'm going to push back, but I know they have my best interest," Durant told reporters.
The University of Texas product has been his typical MVP-level self when on the floor. He's averaged 31.3 points, which ranks second in the NBA behind the Washington Wizards' Bradley Beal (34.9), to go along with 7.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.3 blocks while shooting 53.4 percent from the field in 12 games.
Brooklyn's recent acquisition of Harden has pushed the team firmly into the championship conversation, but there's a lot of work to do to reach that level, especially defensively. It allowed 147 (double overtime) and 125 points in back-to-back losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers this week.
"We just need to find a way to play harder," head coach Steve Nash said after Friday's defeat. "Dig deeper. We are not a defensive roster. We have to take more pride, contest more shots, fight, scrap, claw, and that's what I think is missing as much as anything schematic that we're breaking down."
The Nets likely aren't going to develop into a defensive force given the players on their roster, but their borderline unstoppable offense when at full strength means they only have to manage a modest improvement on defense to contend for the 2021 title.
Keeping Durant, Harden and Irving, who recently returned from a two-week hiatus for personal reasons, on the floor together for an extended stretch would go a long way in starting to establish roles and defensive assignments.
Tipoff for Saturday's game against the Heat, who'll be without Jimmy Butler (COVID-19 protocols) and Tyler Herro (neck injury), is set for 8 p.m. ET on NBA TV.
