Brooklyn Nets fans might feel equally if the sky is falling right about now. Their squad has lost seven of its last 11 games, Kyrie Irving still isn't a full-fourth dimension player due to his determination to remain unvaccinated, and now Kevin Durant is out four-to-six weeks with a sprained MCL.

The Nets could realistically driblet to the No. half dozen or No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference past the time Durant is able to return to the court, but that could actually be a approval in disguise for their upcoming playoff run.

Kevin Durant is out four-to-six weeks with an MCL sprain

Nets fans feared the worst on Sabbatum night when Bruce Dark-brown roughshod into Kevin Durant'southward articulatio genus and knocked him out of the game against the New Orleans Pelicans. If Durant had suffered a season-ending injury on the play, Brooklyn's championship hopes would've immediately went up in flames.

But Durant luckily avoided the worst-example scenario, and he was diagnosed with a sprained MCL in his left articulatio genus the following day. He's expected to miss four-to-six weeks of activeness, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Nets head motorbus Steve Nash said on Monday in that location's no time to frown with KD out of the lineup.

"We only have to do the best we can. We can't cry about information technology," Nash said, per ESPN. "We tin't feel sorry for ourselves. We got to keep building, see what we tin learn, how nosotros tin can grow during this period of Kevin beingness out and Joe [Harris] being out and how we tin can go along to move this thing forward so when they do come back, we're in a meliorate place."

But in terms of playoff seeding, the Nets are likely to be in a worse place by the time Durant returns. Here's why that could be a good thing.

Why Durant's injury could exist a blessing in disguise for the Nets

Kyrie Irving should be thrilled about Kevin Duran't minor knee injury.
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets look on during Game 5 of their Eastern Conference playoff series against the Boston Celtics | Sarah Stier/Getty Images

On the surface, losing Durant for at least a month can just be interpreted every bit a negative for the Nets, but allow's dive a little deeper and endeavor to discover some positives in all of this.

For one, these adjacent few weeks will be crucial for young role players such every bit Cam Thomas and David Duke to rack up more minutes and gain some conviction leading upwardly to a playoff run.

Only more importantly, the Nets should really want to lose some ground in the Eastern Conference standings over the side by side month. Because Irving can only play outside the state of New York this flavour, Brooklyn should be gunning for a worse seed so that they tin play a majority of its playoff games on the route.

Recollect about it.

The No. 6 or No. 7 seed in the East would be an platonic landing spot for the Nets. In that scenario, Brooklyn could possibly accept Irving on the court for 4 games (if needed) in every playoff series all the way through the NBA Finals. Obviously, the Nets wouldn't purposefully tank for a worse seed in the regular season, merely they could easily fall at least a few spots over the next 4-to-vi weeks without Durant in the lineup.

For the Nets, losing would exist a win

Durant could miss at least 16 games with his sprained MCL, so it's possible the Nets could drop from the No. 3 seed to the No. 7 seed over that span considering how tight the Eastern Conference race is right now.

Brooklyn is just 0.5 games backside the Chicago Bulls for the No. 1 seed in the Eastward, merely it's but two games ahead of the No. 6 seed Philadelphia 76ers and 3.5 games alee of the No. 7 seed Charlotte Hornets. In that location'south plenty of room for movement over the next few weeks.

But even if the Nets start to slide in the standings with KD out, they shouldn't start to worry. A healthy and available Irving gives them the best adventure to win a title in 2022, then why not prepare him upwards to play as many playoff games as possible?

Chess, not checkers.

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