Impact Durant left Sunday's win over the Heat early after tweaking his knee and underwent further imaging Monday, which revealed an MCL sprain. The news is devastating to the Nets, who've won 14 of their past 15 games and currently sit at second place in the Eastern Conference. However, with only five games separating second and seventh place, Brooklyn will have its work cut out for the team in the absence of Durant, who's averaging 29.7 points on 55.9 percent shooting across 36.0 minutes per game this season. Yuta Watanabe, Joe Harris and Seth Curry are candidates to join the starting lineup in Durant's stead, while T.J. Warren and Markieff Morris will presumably see increased work off the bench. Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons figure to handle the bulk of the playmaking opportunities until the MVP candidate is able to return.
JANUARY 9, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
