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Brooklyn Nets F Kevin Durant has been ruled out for at least the next two games due to a hamstring strain, the team announced late Sunday evening. Durant is coming off 20 points in 33 minutes in Saturday’s win over the Golden State Warriors. It was his first game back in the Bay Area since leaving the Dubs after the 2019 NBA Finals. Durant is not expected to play against the Sacramento Kings on Monday and Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.
With Durant sidelined for two games, we can fire up Jeff Green, who will likely slide into the starting lineup at PF. Green has been a key part of the rotation since the Nets acquired James Harden and lost a lot of their depth. Green is averaging around 26 minutes per game so far this season, having to fill in for Durant on multiple occasions. Green isn’t worth picking up in a pinch in fantasy basketball season-long leagues. He will be a viable DFS option depending on the price Monday.
As for the Big 3, well, we’ve seen Kyrie Irving be the alpha with Durant on the sideline. Harden sort of takes on more of the facilitator role for the Nets. Both superstars will get a bump in terms of fantasy and DFS, especially against the Kings.
We’ll see how much time Durant will miss. Brooklyn has been playing well and has a shot to jump up into the top 2 in the East if the team can keep it up. The big question is how Durant’s absence will affect the Nets’ defense. This could make the Kings and Suns interesting targets on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.