Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant didn't need any time to shake off rust in his return to action on Thursday. After missing six-plus weeks of games due to a left MCL sprain, the 12-time All-Star scored 31 points with four rebounds and four assists against the East-leading Miami Heat at Barclays Center. But Durant wasn't able to carry the struggling Nets to victory -- they lost at home, 113-107.
With less than 20 games remaining in the season, Brooklyn doesn't resemble a championship-caliber team. They've lost three consecutive games, dipped to the .500 mark at 32-32, and a play-in tournament seed likely awaits them. Durant's return provided an emotional lift for the Nets and their fans, but time is running out -- the hopes of making a deep playoff push are dwindling.
"When you think about the Nets, which are a .500 team, yes, they'll get into the playoffs. Yes, they have an amazing collection of talent," JR said during the JR SportBrief show on Thursday. "It doesn't matter if Kevin Durant isn't trying to be the savior. If the Nets are going to have any chance in hell, it's unfortunate for Kevin Durant, but he's going to have to be the savior. He's going to have to drag this team...
"This is sad. The Nets were supposed to be out there slaying teams. Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving -- they were supposed to be annihilating teams... As optimistic as I want to be about the Nets, they're basically on borrowed time. You have to hope that they can show up, be eligible to play. And then you've got to look at the Nets and say, 'Are you literally just going to play a handful of warmup games and beat some of these established teams?'"
Brooklyn will play its next game on the road against the Boston Celtics this Sunday. According to FiveThirtyEight projections, the Nets currently have a 53-percent chance to reach the playoffs and less than a 1-percent chance to make the NBA Finals. Prior to the season, those marks were 89-percent and 7-percent, respectively.
JR's complete thoughts on Durant's return and the Nets can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the JR SportBrief show on Twitter @JRSportBrief and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.
