Feb 13, 2021; San Francisco, California, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant (7) walks towards the court before the start of the game against the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Kevin Durant has been ruled out with a hamstring injury and Domantas Sabonis has taken his place on the roster while Jayson Tatum takes his place in the All-Star Game starting lineup.
Kevin Durant will be out longer than the Brooklyn Nets originally anticipated.
The Nets are fighting atop the Eastern Conference standings and have done so without Kevin Durant for the past two weeks. The star forward continues to work back from a hamstring injury.
News dropped Friday afternoon that revealed fans shouldn’t expect Durant back before the All-Star break.
Kevin Durant injury opens up an All-Star Game spot
Durant’s injury means Domantas Sabonis will be added to the All-Star Game roster.
The 24-year old Sabonis is averaging 21.5 points and 11.7 rebounds per game this season for the Indiana Pacers. He remains an absolute steal for the team and is now making his second straight All-Star Game appearance.
Durant’s absence also meant a starting spot needed to be filled. Jayson Tatum will now move to the starting lineup after being named a reserve earlier in the week.
Tatum now gets a starting spot at a time when his Boston Celtics are struggling. The team has fallen to 15-17 entering play Friday as the duo of Tatum and Jaylen Brown may not be enough to make the Celtics a real contender.
One question that still remains is who will replace Durant as a captain. The new All-Star Game format features two captains selecting players in a fantasy draft format. Durant was supposed to join LeBron James with that top honor.
The Durant news is a bummer for Nets fans, but taking extra precautions with the superstar is not necessarily a bad thing. The team still has Kyrie Irving and James Harden running the show and Brooklyn is currently riding an eight-game win streak. Durant will eventually return and the Nets will only be better as Irving and Harden continue to gel together at the guard spots.