Nets superstar Kevin Durant (hamstring) will miss his 11th straight game on Saturday while new acquisition Blake Griffin (knee management) will also sit out Brooklyn’s tilt against the Pistons, the team announced.
As we relayed earlier in the week, Durant is set to undergo more tests on his injured hamstring next week to set a clearer timeline for his return. The 2021 All-Star has not played since Feb. 13 and head coach Steve Nash said the team will be cautious with its star player.
“He hasn’t played in a month,” Nash told reporters, including ESPN’s Malika Andrews. “So no matter what the scan says, there will still be an appropriate ramp-up time to make sure we put him in a position to finish the season strong.”
When healthy, Durant has performed at an MVP level, averaging 29.0 PPG and 7.3 RPG in 19 games.
As for Griffin, he has not played in nearly a month since he and the Pistons agreed to part ways. Nash said the team’s new acquisition needs time to ramp up back to game speed and should see action as a small-ball center who can space the floor with three-point shooting.
Durant probably won’t get many MVP votes, but Harden is a perennial MVP finalist.
Harden’s numbers this season are almost identical to LeBron’s from last season.
Harden 2021: 25.2 PPG, 11 APG, 7.9 RPG, 48% shooting, 39% from three.
LeBron 2020: 25.3 PPG, 10.2 APG, 7.8 RPG, 49.3% shooting, 34.8% from three.