Kyrie Irving has been extremely good for the Brooklyn Nets to start the season. While the Nets have been struggling to pick up consistent wins, Irving has been a scoring machine through the first 3 games of the season. He’s been wildly inconsistent, which has been to the detriment of the Nets, who need him and Kevin Durant to deliver every night.
What the team needs to do instead of worrying about Kyrie or KD is for the role players to finally step up and contribute. Ben Simmons is one of them, as his shooting fears from his time in Philadelphia seem to have exacerbated in Brooklyn, with the 6’10” guard not scoring more than 10 points in any game this season.
Irving was seen yelling at Simmons during the Nets’ game against the Milwaukee Bucks, begging the player to shoot the ball after an open lane to the rim. Simmons chose to pass the ball out to Durant as Irving threw his hands up in frustration.
“SHOOT IT BEN!”
Kyrie Irving is begging Ben Simmons to shoot the ball 😭 pic.twitter.com/gXGlCtB4QJ
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) October 27, 2022
This is a glaring issue for the Nets that has bothered them all season. Until Simmons can take an offensive jump to even provide half the points James Harden used to, the Nets won’t be able to make the championship leap.
How Important Is Winning A Championship In 2023 To The Nets?
The Brooklyn Nets probably have the most on the line this season, as the future of their team hangs in the balance this season. Kyrie Irving is a free agent at the end of the year, and it doesn’t look like the star will re-sign for anything less than the max contract extension, something team governor Joe Tsai has already refused to give.
If Irving leaves after a year where the Nets failed to compete at a championship level, even the Nets would be silly to not trade away a disgruntled KD and force him to see out his contract. If KD feels like the promise of a team with Kyrie and James Harden has been broken with no repair in sight, he will try to make his way out again.
Not winning a title could mean the end of KD and Kyrie in Brooklyn. They’ve risen to the challenge so far this season. It’s a question of whether players like Ben Simmons can actually make this team feared again. We will have to wait and see.
