After weeks of rumors, the dust has finally settled around Kyrie Irving’s future. It has already been confirmed that Irving will be staying with the Brooklyn Nets and playing at least his last year on contract for the franchise.
Along with Kyrie, the Nets also have Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons. So if the three stars can work in sync, the Nets have a very real shot at winning it all next season. In order for that to happen, all three players need to be on top of their game in both the regular season and the playoffs.
While all of them will be under the spotlight, Kyrie will have a little more attention on him come playoff time. Ever since winning the 2016 NBA Championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Uncle Drew hasn’t really had the best of outcomes in the postseason.
NBA analyst Bill Simmons recently pointed this out and absolutely blasted Kyrie Irving for not showing up when it matters the most.
“I’m really confused by the perception of Kyrie Irving versus how it compares to the facts because the facts are, for the last five years, he has not been an impact guy in the playoffs. The last time he was truly an impact guy in the playoffs was that 2017 playoffs which he was awesome. People are judging him now based on like the Twitter clips and YouTube clips and some of the highlights versus what he was, which was, they got swept, he was healthy, he played, he had no injuries, he was a 100% healthy.
It’s true that Kyrie is one of the most enjoyable players to watch when he’s healthy, but during the playoffs, he has failed to bring that flair to the table.
Even in the 2022 playoffs, Irving was 100% healthy, yet he failed to help the Nets get past the first round of the postseason. In fact, the duo of Kyrie and KD was unable to win even a single game against the Boston Celtics in the first round.
