"It's important for our team that we don't overburden Kevin Durant'- Steve Nash admits the Brooklyn Nets cannot over rely on Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant has come out this season and has proven why he is the best NBA player in the league. The only issue is that the Brooklyn Nets are struggling, and Durant needs to perform a big game every night to win. Head coach Steve Nash knows he could be running the possibility of overworking him, but right now, they need to.
Last season, in Nash’s first season as head coach over the Nets, Kevin Durant had trouble finishing his way on the court, the only playing in 35 games last season. This was directly after taking a season off to recover from his torn Achilles. Durant has already been asked to do a lot, averaging 34.9 minutes per game through the first 11 games of the season.
Nash was asked about the Nets over-reliance on Durant, and his response was:
“That’s the luxury of having All-Star players that they can do that. Kevin’s obviously elite at scoring and isolating, so there are times when we lean on him but it’s important for our team that we don’t overburden someone like that [Durant],”
Steve Nash: ‘It’s important for our team that we don’t overburden Kevin Durant’ netsdaily.com/2021/11/10/227… https://t.co/Xo7z7uBanN
In a way, this is very true. The Nets offense has started sluggish, and a lot of that has to do with Kyrie Irving sitting out due to his concerns over the COVID-19 vaccination and James Harden playing himself into shape. Durant has been the sole engine of the offense because he needs to. Durant leads the league with 29.5 points per game, as well as a total of 324 points.
Due to Irving's absence and the struggles of both Harden and Joe Harris, a Kevin’s Durant isolation play has become the primary way this Nets team gets its offense. Nash went on to address this by saying:
“So while that is a luxury that he can make plays against anyone, we definitely don’t want to rely on that. That’s the antithesis to our vision. But that is a luxury when he can just rise up and score over people.”
“While that is a luxury that he can make plays against anyone, we definitely don’t want to rely on that.”
⁃Steve Nash on Kevin Durant.
The main issue with this is that Durant is now 33 years old, which might not allow him to sustain this workload for the whole season. If the Brooklyn Nets want to win an NBA title this season, they will need to find a way to manage Durant a little more.
Could this lead to Kevin Durant winning an MVP?
One of the biggest obstacles in Kevin Durant's way of winning an MVP this season was his teammates. This season, however, no player in the Brooklyn Nets is averaging more than 20 points per game, which is the opposite of what most expected.
NBA’s Leading Scorer
28.6 PPG
57.3% FG
8.6 RPG
Kevin Durant is playing like the MVP. https://t.co/XYEsCbayW4
This has led to Durant taking on a massive workload on the offense, becoming the primary scorer, and often running isolation plays with his four teammates standing on the opposite end of the court.
Durant has also had to contribute more as an overall player, adding 8.7 rebounds, a career-high so far, and 5.3 assists. Furthermore, his impact on the defensive end has been a big part of the Nets' overall defensive improvement.
On defense, the Nets are allowing 104.6 points per game, the ninth-lowest in the NBA, with a 105.2 defensive rating, also ninth-lowest. Durant has played a big part in that, posting 104 defensive ratings.
📼 Highlights from @KDTrey5 night in Toronto 📼 https://t.co/TwZ1aRqC3j
Kevin Durant has been one of the best players in the league for a while, and it seems like he only keeps getting better. Along with that, the Nets rely on him to be good on both ends of the court to win, and Durant could be on his way to his second MVP this season if he can stay healthy.
Also Read: Who is Kevin Durant’s Girlfriend, Cassandra Anderson?