The Nets will be cautious with Durant ahead of the playoffs

Returning after his three game hiatus due to a thigh contusion, Kevin Durant came off-the-bench against the Phoenix Suns and did not play at all in the first quarter. The reason for this was because Durant was on a minutes-restriction and the Nets coaching staff wanted to have him on the court more in the second-half than in the first. 

When Durant got on the court in the second-quarter, it took him a minute or two to get settled in, but he scored nine points in the quarter, adding two rebounds and an assist to his name as well. 

Kevin Durant wound up playing 28 minutes against the Suns, the fifth most minutes on the team and the Nets came away with the victory, but it was very apparent that the Nets likely will be cautious with their star players over the last few weeks of the regular season. 

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Brooklyn has found ways to win all season without Durant, Irving and Harden all being on the court at the same time and are now 1.5 games up on the Philadelphia 76ers for the 1-seed in the Eastern Conference. 

They do not need to worry about making the playoffs at this point and quite honestly, they probably do not really care whether or not they are the 1-seed or the 2-seed, so resting Durant, Irving and Harden at the cost of losing a couple games is not a big deal to them. 

Having their stars fully rested and ready for the playoffs is the number one priority for the Nets right now and this is extremely apparent given their rotational decisions during games.