Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are going to have their work cut out for them in the post-season as they look to battle from the play-in tournament all the way to the NBA Championship with the Brooklyn Nets. The pair joined the team together in 2019, but are yet to deliver on their goal of bringing a championship to New York.
Injuries to both players have sidelined their partnership. Their first season, KD was out the entire year and Kyrie got hurt at the start of the season. Last season, injuries ruined their playoff run as they were eliminated by the Milwaukee Bucks. We are in the third year, and the Nets have been eliminated from the top-six race in the East.
Durant spoke about his team’s struggles prior to their win over the New York Knicks, believing continuity on the court is something they haven’t been able to cultivate
Kevin Durant: “To be honest, I feel like our season was de-railed by my injury … when we’re all on the floor together, I like what we got.” pic.twitter.com/ptYeyhaD18
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) April 4, 2022
“The reality is that I feel our season was derailed by my injury. I’m not looking at it like we’re just not a good basketball team. We lack continuity with me and Kyrie out of the lineup, that’s just what it is. When we are all on the floor together, I like what we got.
Durant’s comments came soon after Anthony Davis blamed injuries for ruining the Lakers’ season, which goes to show how fragile teams can be when they are superstar-heavy. Lack of team depth has killed the Nets, with many of their additions not working out the way they did.
They have a massive addition in Ben Simmons waiting to happen, but injuries have sidelined him for now. Hopefully, Simmons can rejoin them soon enough and they can build to a championship next season with off-season continuity. It looks hard for this year’s Nets to overcome the championship barrier, but counting out a team with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving is never an option.
