Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant sprains MCL; To be re-evaluated in two weeks

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On a Sunday night slate across multiple sports, Brooklyn Nets MVP candidate Kevin Durant suffered a knee injury in the third quarter against the Miami Heat. He will be re-evaluated in two weeks. For the season, Durant averaged 29.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game on 55.9 percent shooting from the field.

Jimmy Butler went up for a shot on Nets’ Ben Simmons and ended up falling and landing on Durant’s knee, which caused Durant to land awkwardly. Nets fans were worried right away as this similar situation occurred around the same time last year.

Last season, Durant suffered the same injury but was more severe, which caused him to miss 21 games. The Nets went 5-16 in that stretch, including a 10-game losing streak.

With Durant’s absence, which is expected to be a month, the question is how the team will respond. Brooklyn was playing their best basketball of the season, winning 18 of their last 20 games. Last season, Kyrie Irving wasn’t playing with the team with the vaccine mandate in New York City, but he will be playing this go-round.

The additions of Royce O’Neale, TJ Warren, Simmons, and the fantastic defensive performance of Nic Claxton has put on should keep the Nets afloat. However, the most important piece besides Durant and Irving is their head coach, Jacque Vaughn.

Vaughn took over as interim head coach when the Nets fired Steve Nash back on November 1 after the Nets started the season off with a 2-5 record. Vaughn became the official head coach just eight days later. Vaughn now has the Nets sitting second in the East with a 27-13 record sitting just one game back of the Celtics, whom the Nets play in their next matchup on January 12.

Vaughn changed the energy within the locker room when he took over, and the team has bought into him and his scheme. Can he maintain it with Durant out? We are about to find out.