Shorthanded with just 10 available players, the Nets entered Wednesday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers battling uphill. Already missing James Harden, Tyler Johnson, and now Chris Chiozza to a season-ending right hand fracture, and with Blake Griffin resting and LaMarcus Aldridge out because of illness, perhaps the biggest loss of all was Kevin Durant, fresh off an iconic 31-point night on 11-of-15 shooting against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.
According to head coach Steve Nash, the Nets “thought about” playing Durant on the other side of Brooklyn’s impromptu back-to-back against Philadelphia; but ultimately, it appears Brooklyn had a pre-planned resting regiment that the coaching and training staff didn’t want to break away from.