Kevin Durant Will Miss at Least Next 2 Nets Games Because of Hamstring Injury

The Brooklyn Nets announced Sunday that star Kevin Durant will miss at least Monday's game against the Sacramento Kings and Tuesday's game against the Phoenix Suns with a left hamstring strain.

After sitting out the entire 2019-20 season while recovering from a ruptured Achilles, Durant has shown no lingering effects from the injury so far this year.

Durant has appeared in 19 games and is averaging 29.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per contest. The 10-time All-Star is shooting 52.4 percent from the field, including a career-high 43.4 percent behind the arc.

Expectations are high for the Nets, especially in the wake of their Jan. 14 acquisition of James Harden. There have been some bumps along the way for the team. Brooklyn's defense, in particular, has shown cracks.

A healthy Durant, Harden and Kyrie Irving give the Nets such a dynamic offense that they don't need to be a great defensive team to win. Losing one of those three for any length of time does make things more difficult for the team, though.

Until Durant is able to return, head coach Steve Nash will likely turn to Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot for more minutes at small forward.