The Brooklyn Nets were the hottest team in the NBA entering 2023. They had seemingly put all their early season troubles behind them and came into the new year on an 11-game winning streak. Just over a week into the new year though, misfortune struck.
Kevin Durant, who was playing at an MVP level, went down with an MCL injury against the Miami Heat and he is set to be on the sidelines for a few weeks. The Nets haven’t fared well in his absence, having lost both games since the injury. While you could excuse the first of those losses as it came against the Boston Celtics, the second one was a lot more worrying as it was against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Kyrie Irving though isn’t too concerned by the result.
via New York Daily News:
“These are warmup games. The big performances come in late April,” Irving said postgame. “Just have to enjoy it and smile at how you lose and be able to pick yourself back up. I’m doing the best job I can.
It is all well and good to say these are just warmup games but the fact is that this iteration of the Nets hasn’t gotten it done in the playoffs for all that talk about big performances coming later on. They got swept last season and that wouldn’t have happened if the Nets had put up some big performances.
Kyrie Irving Threw Shade At James Harden
These two losses have led to comparisons being drawn to last season, where the Nets at one point lost 11 in a row when Durant was on the sidelines. Kyrie doesn’t think they’ll struggle without KD this time around and stated that comparisons to last season need to stop.
Irving added that his consistent presence in the lineup this season helps the team cope better with Durant’s absence and he also threw some shade at James Harden after that, stating they don’t have anyone that is halfway in the locker room. He is right when he says that but we’ll see just how well they play without KD this time.
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