'It's a legitimate question': Pacers vs. Nets? Brooklyn sitting all its primary players

Indiana Pacers fans won't recognize the opposition Saturday night.

The Brooklyn Nets are visiting ‒ and least some of them. Here's who aren't suiting up: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, Joe Harris, Seth Curry. Royce O'Neale, Nic Claxton and T.J. Warren. Those players have combined for more than 79% of their points this season.

Curry, Durant, Harris, Simmons and Warren are taking "injury management" rest, while the others are listed with active injuries.

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The Nets beat the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night. Durant scored 34 points in 36 minutes, while Irving had 33 points in 39 minutes.

Tonight's game is the first in a four-game road swing for the Nets, who play at Washington on Monday, Toronto Friday and Detroit on Sunday. Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said the organization saw it as the right move to get rest for the players for the long term.

"We talked about it after the game (Friday) to kind of assess where we were as a team," Vaughn said. "We got a chance to step away from the game and decided this was best for our group. We got some guys with some nagging injuries a little bit, we got guys with personal reasons, we have management of some previous injuries, so it just made sense with the back-to-back and with our scheduling going forward. After tonight we play against Washington and then we don't play again until Friday. So just being smart and coaching for the season, that's how we came to this conclusion."

Vaughn said Durant didn't even make the trip to Indiana. He has played a league-leading 994 minutes this season, and Vaughn said that was the best way to make sure he was truly rested.

"It was my decision for Kevin not to travel, not to get here at 3 a.m.," Vaughn said. "I'm on my fourth espresso right now, because I was watching the World Cup and all that stuff today. I didn't want him drinking espressos. He's at home getting some rest."

Though Vaughn presented his logic for resting so many players, there were certainly fans who bought tickets to Saturday night's game presuming they'd get to see the Pacers face two of the world's best players, with Durant being on a short list of greatest to ever play the game. Vaughn was asked what he might say to a fan who bought a ticket under that premise.

"It's a legitimate question," Vaughn said. "That's a conversation I had with Kevin. I hope that fan knows that Kevin really wanted to play. He understands that. He wants to win every game. But it's a decision for us as an organization that we just had to do."

Yuta Watanabe, who hasn't played since Nov. 20, is the highest-scoring active Net at 8.1 points per game. Also available: Edmond Sumner, Cam Thomas, Patty Mills, Markieff Morris, David Duke Jr., Day'Ron Sharpe and Kessler Edwards.

Vaughn said the starting lineup would obviously change drastically. He mentioned that Sumner, a former Pacer, would start, and the Nets would rely on veterans who have been coming off the bench.

"It puts a premium on Patty and Markieff really leading this group, being veterans in this group," Vaughn said. "We get a chance to see more minutes from Cam and his ability to hopefully score the basketball for us, and then you get a chance for the young guys who have been thirsting for the chance to play."

The Pacers are also in the second night of a back-to-back after defeating the Wizards on Friday night. Coach Rick Carlisle said load management is simply part of the game in today's NBA, especially for a veteran team like the Nets.

"This is part of planning," Carlisle said. "This is a very extreme example, what's happening tonight. But in coaching and managing a team as an executive, minutes accumulate, aches and pains this time of year. You're thinking big picture. A day at the right time can really help a player over the next two weeks. With Brooklyn, you're talking about guys like KD and Irving who are two of the most talented players in the world."

The Pacers haven't engaged in much of any load management this season. They've been careful with injuries and given players days off so as not to overtax them, but the roster has a desire to try to play every game possible. Carlisle has credited several players with gutting through minor injuries. Point guard Tyrese Haliburton has done it on a few occasions, and Carlisle said the desire to try to play every night has had a lot to do with Indiana's early-season success.

"It's an enormous thing for what we're doing," Carlisle said. "It's an enormous thing. It's been one of the things that's changed our environment this year. From the very beginning of the year having that kind of desire to compete."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers vs. Nets: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons out