Every time Kevin Durant is asked about rehabbing from Achillies surgery he says in some form or fashion that the process has been challenging. Of course, that’s to be expected.
But Durant doesn’t always highlight the same reason for why the process has been difficult. He has mentioned how the process itself is tough. Durant has also talked about the frustration of not being able to play, which is something he touched on when he joined YES Network’s broadcast of the Brooklyn Nets’ loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.
“I miss the routine,” Durant said. “I’ve missed getting up every day and being one of the guys, going to practice, going to shootarounds.”
But Durant doesn’t solely dwell on the negative. He’s tried to take advantage of the opportunities this less than ideal situation has presented him with.
“I’m just looking at a game from a different lens, just seeing the landscape of the league, definitely just looking at our team and just seeing guys get better every day.” he said. “I’m seeing practice habits. I’m seeing how they transfer to the games. It’s a different feel, I guess.”
In the course of his assessment, Durant is trying to get an understanding of what’s best for the Nets, as well as himself.
”You look at lineup switches and which guys can play well with each other in the half lineups,” he said. “So all that stuff … And having the guys like [Joe] Harris, Kyrie, myself, Taurean [Prince] and Spencer [Dinwiddie] that can score the basketball, it’s definitely going to make us unpredictable, so I’m looking forward to it.”
It’s clear how much of a boost Durant will provide the Nets with his physical gifts. But between the things his Nets teammates have said about him and comments like these, it seems like Durant’s mind may prove to be just as great of an asset to Brooklyn when the forward is back to playing every night.