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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 15: Kevin Durant # 7 of the Brooklyn Nets during the game against the … [+]
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Just days after Kevin Durant said he could play a “small-ball five” with the Nets, manager Steve Nash said Durant will also play point guard this season.
The Nets open the Durant / Kyrie Irving Era Sunday night with their first preseason game at home against the Wizards.
Durant, who will play his first game since breaking his Achilles tendon in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on June 10, 2019, is on the 6-foot-10 list, but appears to be closer to 7 feet.
“I think Kevin will be able to play all five positions on offense,” Nash said in a Zoom call with reporters. “He could also protect the five positions. It depends. I don’t know if we’ll see a ton of time with him on the one, but he’s definitely a ball handler, playmaker, and can thrive in pick-and-roll situations, so he will play one at times.
“We have a trend towards basketball with no positions on our list. We have a lot of guys who can handle the point, set up the team, make plays, so everyone’s probably involved in that. “
Earlier this week, Durant said the Nets were experimenting with positionless basketball and were making him play “small ball five [or] four “as well as” lift the ball too “.
“So I have to be prepared for anything,” Durant said.
Nash said he plans to start Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris, Durant and DeAndre Jordan. He said Caris Levert (knee joint concussion) will be out on Sunday.
Taurean Prince first brought up the idea of Durant playing point guard in some cases.
“We have tried so many different lineups, different people,” he said.
“Any position that I think could open us up, playing Kevin one, one, five, me two, three, four, Joe two, three, Ky one, two, three, Caris two, three, Jeff. [Green] 3-4, so there is a lot of versatility in this team, so I think it gives us a lot of options, “he said.
The Nets are expected to win the Atlantic Division and fight for an NBA title, and Prince said Durant and Irving are “amazing factors every day.” He added that “there is a lot of talent in the gym, a lot of workers, a lot of guys who do a lot of different things very well.”
As for playing without fans in the stands at Barclays Center, Prince compared it to the minor leagues in the NBA.
“If you’ve ever played in the G League, you’ll be fine,” Prince said. “There aren’t many fans in those kinds of situations either.”
Nash, who will coach his first NBA game, will experiment with different lineups to see as many players as possible.
“We will try to get as many guys as possible to get that rhythm and cohesion and keep building, but at the same time we have to do it accordingly,” Nash said. “We will try to make everyone see, we will try to evaluate everyone, we will try to evaluate combinations and we will give as many people as possible the opportunity to feel the rhythm of a real game.”
The excitement around the team is palpable as the Nets seek to surpass the Knicks as the most important basketball team in town and fight for an NBA championship.
“I’m excited, it’s a great opportunity after this process to go out and have a dress rehearsal to break the ice and get one step closer to reality,” Nash said.
“Great opportunity for us to feel it and walk through it and hopefully get something out of the game … It’s great, we’re just breaking down these little barriers, these little steps, and getting closer to reality.”
