Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Steve Nash: Nets 'can't cry' over Kevin Durant injury

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 1/17/22

The Brooklyn Nets will be without star Kevin Durant for at least a month, but head coach Steve Nash doesn't want his team to waste any time dwelling on it.

"We just have to do the best we can. We can't cry about it," Nash told ESPN. "We can't feel sorry for ourselves. We got to keep building, see what we can learn, how we can grow during this period of Kevin being out and Joe [Harris] being out and how we can continue to move this thing forward so when they do come back, we're in a better place — and he can rejoin us in a place where we can feel better about where we are in that part of the season."

Durant sprained the MCL in his left knee during Saturday's win over the New Orleans Pelicans, leaving the court with a noticeable limp, although he was able to walk under his own power.

Kevin Durant limped to the locker room after an apparent knee injury. pic.twitter.com/6nqk4cLrG1
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 16, 2022

Nash said the 11-time All-Star is more discouraged than anything else.

"He's obviously disappointed," Nash said. "The guy loves to play. It's tough any time you're injured but this is just the reality and try to stay positive and look forward to the opportunity to play and that it's not worse."

Nash said that one advantage Brooklyn has in Durant's absence is that there are plenty of road games coming up, which will allow the Nets to have still-unvaccinated Kyrie Irving in their lineup. He also added he doesn't want to put too much on Irving's plate just because Durant is sidelined.

"He hasn't played for six-plus months, and coming back into the NBA game with little cadence and difficult practice opportunities, I think we have to give him that space to also find his rhythm without feeling overburdened or feeling too much pressure to do things too quickly," Nash said. "He already has shown his game's right there. And in no time I think we'll see the Kyrie we all expect, but I don't want him to feel like he has to be that all at once."

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