Kevin Durant has played the MOST minutes in NBA and it's 'not ideal' according to Nets coach

While the Nets have slowly climbed their way up the Eastern Conference standings, their rise has been hurt by Kevin Durant, who has played a tremendous amount of minutes this season.

The Brooklyn star has logged 922 minutes through 25 games – the most in the league – while his 36.9 minutes per contest is fourth-highest in the league.

On the one hand, Durant’s high minutes total is actually a sign of his good health so far, as, unlike many of his peers, he has yet to miss a game.

Jacque Vaughn wants Kevin Durant to play fewer minutes for the Brooklyn Nets

However, for a 34-year-old with recent injury issues, playing nearly 40 minutes a night is unlikely to be sustainable long-term.

‘It’s not perfect,’ head coach Jacque Vaughn said recently. ‘While we’re in win-now mode, win the game today, we’re behind the scenes talking about what the stretch looks like beyond tomorrow, beyond the day after. So this is what we have in mind.

‘We’ll map out some time where we’ll save a shoot-around and it might not be there. So be strategic in that way but mentally, he’s not going to play this many minutes this early, for sure.’

While Durant will remain the Nets’ top scoring option barring an injury, there is reason to believe his workload could be cut slightly.

Fellow forward TJ Warren made his Nets debut last week after a 703-day injury layoff and already looks the part of a legitimate contributor despite any rust that may exist.

TJ Warren could provide valuable bench scoring for the Nets as a relief to Durant

Warren went 5-11 from the field for 10 points and four rebounds in his Brooklyn debut against the Raptors, and averaged 19.8 points per game in the last full season (2019-20) he played for the Pacers.

He’s only played 35 total minutes in the two contests since returning, but he’s considered an important bench piece for Brooklyn in Durant’s relief as he continues to accelerate.

The Nets are also without Yuta Watanabe and Ben Simmons though neither pair is expected to be out for an extended period of time.

Brooklyn has been trending up since Steve Nash was fired from his head coaching duties, as the team went 10-6 in November and finished sixth in the East.