The last time Kevin Durant suited up for the Nets in mid-January, they were an Eastern Conference force. Even without the services of Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn was one of the league’s best teams. As the star prepares for his official return from a knee injury this Thursday against the Heat, it’ll be at the helm of a new-look team–without James Harden–trying to steady a freefall.
Durant’s stardom and evident gifts aside, Brooklyn will need all the help it can get against Miami: The current top seed in the East. The Heat is a consensus -7.5 favorite over the Nets, and while Durant’s presence should lift those odds some in his team’s favor, it shouldn’t be enough to make them a safe bet to pull off the upset.
#NBA #Nets – Kevin Durant (knee) expected to return Thursday.
— Action Labs (@ActionLabs_HQ) March 2, 2022
In Durant’s absence, the Nets lost 16 of 21 games, including 11 straight from late January to mid-February. While they should be better with their best player in the fold, it’ll take some time for Durant to ease in after missing more than a month and a half of action. He’s not going to be the 35-point titan he’s made his name off of right away, and no one should expect him to, especially the Nets.
Where it’ll get interesting in the long-term is how Durant affects the Nets’ title odds. Despite their freefall, Brooklyn is still +550 to win the NBA title with Tipico Sportsbook, which is third only to the juggernaut Suns and Warriors. If Durant can get healthy quickly, and if even Ben Simmons can offer something of value whenever he returns, then maybe, just maybe, the Nets are a great pick to at least come out of the East (+280). There are enough depth pieces in place around Durant and Simmons — like Seth Curry, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Andre Drummond — to think they could make a decent run of it.
The Nets probably won’t beat the Heat and Celtics in Durant’s first two games back. But in April and May? You’d be hard-pressed to make a worse betting choice.
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