Nets need Kyrie Irving to lead them through tough ride with Kevin Durant, James Harden out
The Nets began their five-game road trip in San Francisco on Saturday, the longest stretch in consecutive games that they will have Kyrie Irving available this season. They had 32 points, seven rebounds and seven assists from their point guard in his best performance of the season, but they couldn’t overcome a 19-point shortfall against the Warriors.
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Irving’s 32 points is a season high, eclipsing his previous 30-point mark in the last game he played, January 23 in Minnesota.
The 110-106 loss dropped the Nets to 29-20 in the off-season and sixth in the East. James Harden missed what the team calls a right arm stretch, meaning it was the first time Irving played without at least one of the other two Big Three – Harden and Kevin Durant – since his return.
Unable to play home games due to New York City’s COVID-19 vaccine authorization, Irving returned to the Nets as a part-time player in early January after the original team choose not to use him in the road games he might play.
Since his return, however, Irving has been unimpressive. He averaged 24.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists, and in the game against the Warriors he looked like the Kyrie of his pre-Brooklyn days.
Irving was asked in mid-January about the pressure to carry in the absence of Durant and Harden. He said he didn’t feel any extra pressure to take on that role.
“I like pressure,” Irving said. “I like pressure. It brings out the best in me personally. And I can also channel that energy with the team whether it’s communicating with the boys in short chats on the floor or off the floor. .
Kyrie Irving since return (8 games):
24.5 PPG
5.1 RPG
5.4 APG
49/37/96%He had 32/7/7 tonight and almost won at Golden State without KD and Harden. pic.twitter.com/7dbm9lN1v7
– StatMuse (@statmuse) January 30, 2022
The biggest concern for the franchise right now is trying to hold out until Durant can return from injury. Nets is 5-8 in the games he missed, which means that over the next month or so, they’ll need Irving more than they can expect when agreeing to have him back.
Irving said Saturday that he finds the team needs “everyone” to compete with teams like the Warriors. “We needed an incredible effort from everyone, which is what I wanted. With James absent, obviously, you can’t make his product. We try our best to have it. 30 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists that he could hang out with every night.”
With a tie in the East this season, the Nets cannot continue their long losing streak. Even though they’re sixth in the grand scheme of things, they’re just 2.5 games over first place, which the Heat currently hold.
The loss to the Warriors was their fourth loss in a row and it was the first time they’ve lost face-to-face matches this season. Of their four remaining games on this trip, three will face the top five teams in the West: the Suns, the Jazz and the Nuggets.
Nets record against elite opponents? Only 1-11. The only win came in Chicago in mid-January.
Coach Steve Nash has said that the fact that Irving is a part-time player is just another obstacle the team will have to overcome, but while it has him for the next four games, it will need him more than ever.
Nets . upcoming schedule
Day | Protest | Time (ET) | National Television | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
January 17 | at Cavaliers | 3 pm | – | L, 114-107 |
January 19 | at Wizards | 7 pm | – | W, 119-118 |
January 21 | at Spurs | 8pm | – | W, 117-102 |
January 23 | at Timberwolves | 8pm | – | L, 136-125 |
January 25 | compared to the Lakers | 7:30 pm | TNT | L, 106-96 |
January 26 | compared to Nuggets | 7:30 pm | – | L, 124-118 |
January 29 | at Warriors | 8.30pm | ABC | L, 110-106 |
February 1 | when the sun | 10 give me | TNT | |
February 2 | at Kings | 10 give me | – | |
February 4th | at Jazz | 9 pm | – | |
February 6 | at Nuggets | 3:30 pm | – | |
February 8 | versus the Celtics | 7:30 pm | TNT | |
February 10th | at Wizards | 7 pm | – | |
February 12th | at heat | 8pm | – | |
February 14th | compared to kings | 7:30 pm | – | |
February 16th | at Knicks | 7:30 pm | ESPN | |
February 17 | compared to witches | 7:30 pm | – |