In recent years, the Brooklyn Nets have boasted more star power and success than the New York Knicks have. Even though in terms of the number of fans, the Big Apple remains a Knicks-town, the Nets are hard to ignore when they can put both Kevin Durant and now Kyrie Irving on the court at the same time. This means that slowly but surely, interest in the team is rising within the city.
Last season, the Knicks enjoyed a bit of a resurgence and made it to the playoffs but they have seemingly regressed again this season and are set to miss out again. That means the Nets, who just got Kyrie Irving back for all their games, are the only team in the city with a realistic chance of making it deep into the postseason.
Their players know it too and haven’t hesitated to take a few shots at their neighbors the Knicks when given the opportunity. Following their win over the Miami Heat on Saturday night, Kevin Durant took a shot at a Knicks reporter he spotted in his press conference after the game.
Kevin Durant jokes with a Knicks reporter for covering the Nets:
"That's the biggest team in the…I thought the Nets were irrelevant?" pic.twitter.com/lSd6qzGEgF
— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) March 27, 2022
“That’s the biggest team in the…I thought the Nets were irrelevant?”
Obviously, with the Knicks currently 5 games out of the final play-in spot, their season is more or less over, and there is not a lot to talk about in terms of where the team can improve until the offseason comes along. So it’s no surprise that reporters that generally cover them are now turning their attention to Brooklyn, who are gearing up for a deep playoff run.
Beating the No. 1 seed in the Miami Heat was quite the statement from the Nets, and they did so comfortably too. If they can get their rotations locked in before the playoffs begin, whichever team they play during the postseason will have a lot to worry about. Especially if it ends up being the Miami Heat, even if Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t agree.
