NEWSLETTER
The Brooklyn Nets announced on Monday that superstar Kevin Durant will be sidelined for at least two weeks with an MCL sprain.
Durant sustained the injury on Sunday after Miami’s Jimmy Butler fell on his right knee.
For those within the Nets organization, this might actually feel like a small victory. There we plenty of concern that things could be rather severe the moment Durant went down and clutched his knee. And while a re-evaluation in two weeks doesn’t guarantee a return at that point, it at least signals that they do not believe Durant should miss much more time than that.
Still, multiple weeks missed for an MVP-caliber player is a big deal, especially when we consider how well Brooklyn has recently played. The Nets have won 18 of their last 20 games (Chicago being one of the two losses) to move into the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 spot.
Having said that, with the Bucks and Cavs only 1.5 games behind and the 76ers 2.5 games behind, there is a lot of room for Brooklyn to freefall down the standings if they can’t weather the storm.
The Nets will return to action on Thursday when they play the Celtics and Sunday when they battle the Thunder. Then, an important five-game road trip out west looms.
