The Nets kept their first media availability since the game against the Houston Rockets … and there was plenty to unpack. Steve Nash provided updates on star forward Kevin Durant; Blake Griffin spoke as a net for the very first time; DeAndre Jordan outlined his reunion with his Lob City partner.
Unfortunately, it was a bit disappointing. Hamstrings are troublesome things.
Status update on Kevin Durant
The Nets open the second half of the regular season Thursday without Kevin Durant, who will miss his tenth game against the Boston Celtics with the long-term consequences of a left thigh muscle.
Steve Nash said Durant would do another scan next week, but stressed that he had not played for almost a month and that he would need a shake-up once the results were positive.
“Kevin is getting better all the time and has a scan next week,” Nash said. “We will then judge him, but he has basically not played for a month. No matter what the scan says, he will have the right driveway and we can finish him strong this season.”
On Feb. 21, ahead of the win over the Clippers, Nash noticed how Durant improved at a rapid pace. He was even optimistic KD could return before the All-Star break, but after a second scan, the Nets realized that Durant would not be back so soon.
“I think when we got the second scan, we knew it would be longer,” Nash said. ‘The first scan, there was bleeding and the imaging was not so clear. I think with the second scan we realized that this is the type of timeline we are looking at and what we will see. This may change. We expected the potential for this to be a month.
Nash added how Durant is going to do another scan next week. He did provide a specific date.
“Who knows what the scan says. Who knows where it’s taking us and how fast he’s back, but I think when we got the second scan, we knew that was probably what we’re looking for. ”
The Nets want to see the left thigh muscle healed. Meanwhile, the Nets 32-year-old superstar did individual work.
“I think the injury really needs to heal,” Nash said. “So simple. He was in court. He did a lot of work and just made sure he had the right healing response in the window we had here. He had the scan the two weeks after that, two weeks then a scan and if it progresses in the right direction, it’s the number 1 thing. Then two it is completely healed and how much more can we predict that he must go to be fully healed.
“He is already on the track and working separately and enables him to increase the ramp when the scan gives us the necessary information.”
Durant does light work on the practice court like half court and works on his shooting rhythm. Nash and the Nets limit Durant from participating in high-speed workouts or five-to-five.
“He certainly does not do five-on-five. He is certainly not engaged in high-speed running, but he does a lot of hard track-rhythm work on the half-track. We will wait until the scan escalates and take the next step. ”
Asked if Durant’s thigh muscle injury was related to his Achillies, Nash quickly shot down the compound, but he noted how he never wanted to rule out any injury pattern. While the scan awaits, the Nets will remain very cautious, with Durant emphasizing his obvious importance to the team.
‘You never want to rule out patterns, because even if you can not diagnose them, they may be part of anything. Through his history, medical history, assessments, we do not feel that these two are related. He is doing very well now and we all feel very positive about the direction he is going, but we just have to be very careful because he is a very important player for us. ”
Blake Griffin will miss Thursday’s game (“left knee – injury management”), which he described as “rushing”. quickly dismissed any injury. Brooklyn cites Jeff Green as doubtful with the right shoulder contusion and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot as doubtful with soreness to the right knee.
Nash does not see a player sustaining an injury that remains most of the 35 regular games in the regular season, but wants to take everything daily so his players can be available for the playoffs.
‘We’re impressed with how it all plays out. “The more games, the better, but there are now 35 games left and now, I can not see anyone holding it,” said Nash.
“We will monitor Kevin and Blake and hopefully we will have a lot of health and happiness in the run-up, but you can make all the plans you want and that sometimes things can go sideways. We just have to take it day by day and make sure we make sensible decisions and with a little luck we will have a nice runway with these guys available, healthy, playing and an opportunity to gain togetherness and understanding before the playoffs. arrive. ”
Blake Griffin describes his new role
Blake Griffin made his first appearance in a Nets (practice) jersey on Thursday. For those hoping to look like the 31-year-old in some Brooklyn threads, check it out:
Griffin said of his new home: “it’s about meaningful basketball, playing in the playoffs.” Of course, the 12-year-old veteran did not come to the Nets without encouragement. The simple dance of plundering Larry O’Brien feathers’ feathers to promote available contributors played a big role. By the way.
The main recruiter, can you ask? “I talked to KD the most,” Blake said. “It was a familiar team to me.”
That, of course, was all legal, as he told Rich Eisen on Tuesday. Do not want to break the toddler rules.)
What Griffin brings to the table, besides being a large body to fill a number of vacancies, is a clear skill set pre-suited for a role. After all, he is a veteran who is fully aware of what he is doing and does not bring it to the table. He and Steve Nash have already talked to each other (about a delicious food, it seems!) about a possible role for Blake. Nash has a very specific one in mind for the six-time All-Star.
“Blake is a small ball 5 that can make open tries,” Nash said. ‘He’s very good in the game, playing 4-on-3, 3-on-2, 2-on-1 situations. He is an intelligent player, has a lot of experience and IQ. ”
Defensively, it appears that Griffin is best used in a scheme that can work with Brooklyn’s link defense. Former Nets assistant coach Steve Jones Jr. has outlined Blake’s profile as a defender on Twitter in a wonderful thread (look serious!). Jones, the son of Snapper, came to the conclusion that Blake could probably be best used in a defense that exchanges defensive commands.
You know what, let’s look at a Blake Griffin defense.
– Steve Jones Jr. (@ stevejones20) March 9, 2021
The best coverage for Blake at this point might be just to reach the level of the screen and then drop back or recover.
– Steve Jones Jr. (@ stevejones20) March 9, 2021
It seems DeAndre Jordan agrees.
“With a man like Blake, man, we can grow small,” Jordan said after Thursday’s practice. “We can convert a lot of things.”
All in all, the move should be beneficial for both sides. For Griffin, he benefits from a fresh start of a championship candidate in a city that is not so bad to live in (the Comedy Cellar is waiting for him!). Meanwhile, the Nets (or maybe not) stumbled upon gold on a hidden pot. With simplified expectations, there is a chance that Blake will be a star again … but only a star in his role.
“His role will be different. He was asked to do a lot in Detroit. “There will be a lot of defensive focus on him,” Nash explained. ‘With this team, he will not be asked to carry such a large load or take up so much pressure from the defense. I think there is an opportunity for him to have less pressure, less responsibility and therefore show in a bigger light what he can do. ”
Nash added …
‘I’m not sitting here expecting anything from Blake. Just want to see how he enjoys his game, feels good, can move as well as he can at this point, and hopefully incorporate him into what we do and allow him to find a good role. ”
There was no word on how the Nets will fill their two vacancies, extend two of the three ten days released earlier this week, sign other players for new ten days or leave the spots open. As Marc Stein reported on Wednesday night, André will be a ‘Nets versus Lakers attack’ if Andre Drummond gets a free agency.