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Brooklyn Nets SF/PF Kevin Durant will not play in Monday’s game vs. the Memphis Grizzlies to rest his Achilles, the team announced this afternoon. The Nets are coming off a loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night and are on the second leg of a back-to-back set. Durant has played in three games this season, the first three games since rupturing his Achilles tendon in the 2019 NBA playoffs. The Nets are being cautious with KD and letting him take a seat to get fresh legs.
The Nets announce Kevin Durant is out tonight to rest from his Achilles recovery.
— Alex Schiffer (@Alex__Schiffer) December 28, 2020
We should just get used to superstars resting most of the time this season. The condensed schedule creates a lot more back-to-back sets and unless a game is nationally televised, the teams don’t have any incentive to play players without fans in the stands. So Durant will sit out for the Nets, who are already going to be without G Spencer Dinwiddie. Reports from this morning were Dinwiddie has a partially torn ACL and will likely miss the rest of the season. So the Nets are down two starters against the Grizz.
Fantasy basketball and betting analysis
There will be a ton of value on the Nets for tonight, but a lot of it will be chalky. Kyrie Irving ($9,000) will be a popular GPP play with no KD or Dinwiddie. He’s scored at least 25 points in every game this season. LeVert ($6,600) may have to start with no KD or Dinwiddie. I initially pegged Landry Shamet ($3,500) or even Taurean Prince ($3,100) as a good replacement for Dinwiddie. LeVert is best served as the 6th Man since he’ll draw more mismatches. The Nets could run Irving, Shamet, Joe Harris ($4,600), Prince and DeAndre Jordan in the starting 5 tonight.
Take your pick really, anyone on the Nets will be viable in both formats tonight. I’d lean on the cheaper guys rather than paying up for Irving or LeVert given the possible ownership. Shamet and Prince won’t get a ton of ownership, are really cheap and could see more run in garbage time if the Nets falter against a pretty strong Memphis team. Even guys like Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot ($3,100) and Tyler Johnson ($3,100) are going to be playable if the game ends up not being competitive.
The line for this game has plummeted from 5.5 to 4 points in favor of Brooklyn since the Durant news. The Grizz are still plus-odds on the moneyline, which seems favorable without KD or Dinwiddie on the second of a back-to-back. Memphis is also a bit desperate at 0-2 on the season. The O/U is at 230, which could be a bit high given the Nets won’t have as much offensive punch and have actually played pretty good defense through three games.
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