Kevin Durant will be back in the lineup when the Brooklyn Nets host the Miami Heat.
Durant, who has been recovering from a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee back on January 15. He was hurt in a collision with teammate Bruce Brown during the second quarter against the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Nets were 27-15 and in second place in the Eastern Conference after winning the night Durant got hurt. They have since gone 5-16 to drop to eighth place in the East, 4 1/2 games out of sixth place, which is the last spot in the standings that doesn’t come with a play-in requirement to make the postseason.
Brooklyn’s skid included an 11-game losing streak and a 1-6 mark at home, with five of those home setbacks coming by double digits. The most recent occurred Monday, when the Nets were blown out 133-97 by the Toronto Raptors.
Durant will have a different cast around him upon his return, with James Harden in Philadelphia. Durant’s new teammates include Seth Curry and veteran center Andre Drummond.
One player who still won’t be around for the Nets is Kyrie Irving who is still ineligible for home games this season.
“We all know who we have coming back, and we all know what we need to do to help,” Brooklyn forward James Johnson said. “We see how hard it is to do what KD and Kyrie do every night.”
With Durant back in the lineup can the Nets finish strong with 19 games remaining? Now with KD coming back look for Brooklyn to peak at the right time.
