The Nets are a superpower on paper at full force, but will the team ever get to experience a fully healthy roster with all of its stars on the court?
Steve Nash doesn't think that's a given as the playoffs draw closer.
"We may not get any games with our whole roster," Nash told reporters on Wednesday. "Nothing is promised tomorrow."
Kevin Durant sat Wednesday night's game against the conference-leading 76ers as part of his injury management after his recent return from a hamstring strain, while James Harden continues to sit with a hamstring injury of his own. Durant recently returned after a nearly two-month absence, and while Nash hopes Harden's absence isn't as long as Durant's, he isn't sitting back and waiting for his superteam to reach full power, not while the Nets are still chasing the top spot in the East.
"I don't want to worry about or be concerned about things that are out of our control," Nash said. "I also don't want any excuses. You start playing that game where it's like 'well we haven't half any games with our full roster,' but in a sense, that's irrelevant."
Kyrie Irving has missed his share of games as well, typically due to personal reasons rather than physical health, but with each of Brooklyn's big three having missed substantial time this year, the big three of Harden, Durant and Irving have played just seven games and a total of 186 minutes together this season. Will that lack of familiarity be an issue in the postseason? Will they even have a chance to prove that it won't be?
"We don't control that," Nash said. "We just keep moving forward and try to get better. If we get a full roster, that would be great, and if we don't, we keep plugging away every day."
Nash and the Nets will already be without LaMarcus Aldridge, who announced his retirement after doctors discovered an irregular heartbeat. Brooklyn can certainly weather that loss with superstars like Durant, Harden and Irving, but the three of them taking the floor for a potential seven-game series against the Sixers deep into the postseason is hardly a certainty.
"I'm not going to worry about when we'll have a full roster," Nash said. "We'll just chip away every day with whoever is available and continue to build this thing. If we're fortunate to have everyone back, then that would be a blessing."
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