Steve Nash: It is Possible But Not Likely That Durant Returns in The First Game After All-Star Break

Steve Nash gave an update on superstar Kevin Durant on Wednesday night.

When asked if Durant could possibly return on the first game back from the All-Star Break, Nash expressed his hesitance of rushing him back: “We’ll see, I wouldn’t expect him. Yeah, I’m not like, ‘he’s gonna play right when the break ends,’ there’s obviously a small chance, but we want to be really careful and safe with Kevin.”

Nash and the Nets are taking the cautious approach with Durant and his injury. He has been sidelined with an MCL sprain that he suffered on January 15th in a game against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Shortly after the injury occurred and its results came back, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski put a timeline on the recovery, saying that it would be a four-to-six week rehabilitation for Durant.

The Nets’ first game back from the All-Star Break — February 24th against the Boston Celtics — would be exactly 40 days since the injury occurred, bringing the rehabilitation period to just under six weeks. If Durant does not play against Boston, it is likely that he plays in limited capacity against the Bucks on February 26th or against the Raptors on February 28th.

The Nets are taking a cautious approach with Durant as the season winds down because they expect him to be at full health going into the playoffs.

Steve Nash talked about the importance of keeping Durant healthy .. especially in the upcoming stretch of the Nets last 23 games:

“… A setback would be tough when we only have by whatever it is, 20 or so games left. We don’t want to jeopardize it or have a setback where he misses another six to 10 or 12 games in the 20. So I think [we] would be cautious coming out of the break.”

Steve Nash/Nets Post-Game Press Conference