In the NBA, there are a lot of times where players have scheduled rest during the regular season. Sometimes, that benefits players because it keeps them fresh for the playoffs.
The Brooklyn Nets have just finished the first half of a back-to-back in their schedule, defeating the San Antonio Spurs. Tomorrow, they will face the Portland Trail Blazers. There has been a lot of concern about Kevin Durant’s heavy minute load during this time, especially because the Spurs game went to overtime. Some would argue that Durant should rest against the Trail Blazers.
However, Kevin Durant isn’t at all concerned about the heavy minute load on the back-to-back. He has recently stated that he wants to play and that he gets paid to play basketball.
Kevin Durant on playing on both ends of the Spurs-Blazers back-to-back: "I wanna play and they pay me money to play basketball."
— Matt Brooks (@MattBrooksNBA) January 9, 2022
I wanna play and they pay me money to play basketball.
This isn’t the first time that Kevin Durant has brushed off any concerns about playing big minutes. It makes sense that he’d want to play as much as possible, as he has spent a lot of time away from the game after his Achilles injury in the 2019 Finals. However, it could also be wise to be cautious with his minute load, as playing heavy minutes can sometimes lead to injury.
There is no question that the Brooklyn Nets have relied on Kevin Durant heavily this year, especially when Kyrie Irving was absent and James Harden was still finding his footing. At one point, coach Steve Nash even stated that he doesn’t “know what options we have other than to play him less and lose more”. However, Kyrie Irving has since returned as a part-time player, and perhaps he can help lessen the scoring load on Kevin Durant going forward. The Brooklyn Nets’ goal will be to win the championship this year, and they’ll need Kevin Durant as fresh as possible to do so.
