The Brooklyn Nets' playoff hopes received a big boost with the return of Kevin Durant, who suited up against the Miami Heat on Thursday after missing a month of action with an MCL sprain.
With just 18 regular season games to go, Durant's return couldn't have come at a better time and while getting the two-time Finals MVP back on the floor completely changes the strength of the roster, is it enough to guarantee the Nets a clear path to postseason action?
Yes and no.
Ben Simmons remains sidelined with back soreness and Kyrie Irving remains unavailable for road games due to his vaccination status, making the road ahead a tricky one for head coach Steve Nash to navigate.
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Kevin Durant back in action
Since Durant went down on Jan. 15 against the New Orleans Pelicans, the Nets are a much different team than the one he last played with. James Harden is now a 76er, Ben Simmons, Andre Drummond and Seth Curry are in Brooklyn and the Nets are still yet to iron out what their rotation will look like come playoff time.
The good news for Brooklyn is Durant is good enough to carry the Nets for the home stretch on his own if he hits the ground running.
Prior to his injury, Durant was in the midst of an MVP caliber season, averaging 29.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game on 52.0 percent shooting from the field and 37.2 percent from the 3-point line. In his absence, the already depleted Nets nosedived in the standings, going 5-16 to fall from the No. 1 seed to No. 8.
That tells you everything about Durant's importance.
Eastern Conference playoff picture
The Nets are currently 32-32, 5.0 games back of the coveted No. 6 seed which guarantees automatic qualification for the playoffs. They have a 2.5 game lead over the Washington Wizards, who sit in 11th as the first team out of the Play-In picture.
With that being said, right now, the Nets are closer to missing the playoffs altogether than guaranteeing their spot in the postseason.
They had a chance to make a major move in the standings this week but dropped back-to-back games against the Toronto Raptors, making their Play-In Tournament bid all the more likely.
According to Tankathon, the Nets have the 5th easiest remaining schedule, but along the way, there are some tricky matchups that could swing their fortunes for the worse.
They have one more matchup against the Boston Celtics and two more matchups against the Charlotte Hornets, Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks – all of whom are surrounding them in the standings.
| Seed | Team | Win | Loss | Win % |
| 5. | Boston Celtics | 38 | 27 | .585 |
| 6. | Cleveland Cavaliers | 36 | 26 | .581 |
| 7. | Toronto Raptors | 34 | 28 | .548 |
| 8. | Brooklyn Nets | 32 | 32 | .500 |
| 9. | Charlotte Hornets | 31 | 33 | .484 |
| 10. | Atlanta Hawks | 30 | 32 | .484 |
| 11. | Washington Wizards | 28 | 33 | .459 |
| 12. | New York Knicks | 25 | 37 | .403 |
In the event of a tie where two teams finish with the same regular season record, the team with the better winning percentage in those head-to-head matchups earns the tiebreaker. If three or more teams are tied with the same record, any team that is a division winner will take the higher seed. After that, the team with the better winning percentage in all games between the tied teams earns the tiebreaker.
Ben Simmons' debut delayed
While Harden hit the ground running in Philly, the Nets are still without Ben Simmons, the centerpiece of the deal on their side.
It was initially reported it may be a few weeks until the three-time All-Star hits the court as he ramps up his conditioning, having not played in nine months, but that timeline remains unclear with news that he is dealing with back soreness.
"He's just doing some light shooting and just physical therapy," Nash said. "Just making sure that he gets that back 100%, just that little flare-up, and while he does shooting and his reconditioning stuff that he's able to do while that thing settles down."
Nets general manager Sean Marks told the YES Network that the hope is for Simmons to do individual work the rest of this week before getting "more into the team environment" at the end of the week of March 6-13.
Sean Marks sets the record straight on when Ben Simmons could be ready for game action.
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) March 3, 2022
Don't miss the full exclusive Sean Marks interview tonight at 7pm on YES: https://t.co/0cgHA8Q6LU pic.twitter.com/K68vsUx5ws
Kyrie Irving's full-time availability still up in the air
Despite New York City lifting its vaccine mandates on March 7 for indoor public spaces, Irving remains ineligible to play at Barclays Center.
"All other vaccine mandates in New York City will remain in place at this time as they are, and have been, vital to protecting New Yorkers," said New York Mayor Eric Adams.
That includes the vaccine mandate for private businesses.
"It would send the wrong message just to have an exception for one player when we're telling a countless number of New York City employees, 'If you don't follow the rules, you won't be able to be employed,'" Adams said.
Of the Nets' remaining regular season games, eight are on the road, and if they end up having to face the Raptors in Toronto for the Play-In Tournament, he would also be ineligible to play due to Ontario's current vaccine mandate.
Witnessed a masterclass last night 🤩
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) February 27, 2022
38 PTS | 5 AST | 53.8 FG% pic.twitter.com/Xfe6euadKX
On top of their existing roster issues, shooting guard Joe Harris is still working his way back from an ankle injury. On paper, if the Nets can get everyone back on the floor, they remain one of the best teams in the league and will be confident in facing anyone in the playoffs, regardless of their seeding. But given the logjam in the 7-to-10 seeds, they will need everything to break right to seal their path.
