Kevin Durant is making progress toward returning from his right MCL sprain, the Nets announced (via Twitter). Durant underwent his two-week re-evaluation Monday, and the doctor was pleased with the state of his recovery.
Durant will resume running and on-court basketball activities this week, the team added, and he will be reassessed again in two more weeks.
That time frame takes him to Feb. 7, which is about a week before the All-Star break. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski suggests the Nets might consider holding Durant out through the break to give him more time to fully recover before returning Feb. 24 (Twitter link). However, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic there’s optimism that Durant will return in time to play in the All-Star Game (Twitter link).
The Nets are 2-4 since Durant was injured Jan. 8, dropping their first four games and then responding with back-to-back road victories. Kyrie Irving has taken on more of the scoring load to help the team survive without Durant’s production.
Durant was in the midst of an MVP-type season before the injury, averaging 29.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 39 games.
