Skip Bayless taunts Kyrie Irving, says he might as well be missing the home game after devastating opening night loss: "Nets are getting BULLIED IN THEIR OWN BUILDING by the Pels"
Fox Sports analyst Skip Bayless taunted Kyrie Irving for his display against the New Orleans Pelicans on opening night. With the Brooklyn Nets getting blown out by the Pelicans, Bayless also lauded the New Orleans squad for their performance.
The Brooklyn Nets are viewed as one of the strongest teams in the NBA this season. After a turbulent offseason, the Nets have managed to gather their bearings after a solid roster construction period.
With the return of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, the Nets are further strengthened by Ben Simmons' long-awaited debut. With a potent superstar trio within their ranks, the Nets were presented as a force to be reckoned with.
In light of all the hype surrounding the team, Brooklyn has a lot of expectations riding on them this season. Following up on last season's first-round exit, the Nets view this season as their "revenge tour".
Unfortunately, things haven't started off in the best way. After a balanced set of outings in the preseason, the Brooklyn Nets started their title pursuit with a loss in the regular-season.
The Nets were left shellshocked after being handed a 108-130 blowout by the up-and-coming New Orleans Pelicans. By virtue of their poor performances, the Nets have also caught a lot of flak.
Skip Bayless was particularly critical of Brooklyn's performance on opening night. After witnessing the loss, Bayless voiced his opinion on the team's performance on Twitter. He tweeted:
"Nets are getting BULLIED IN THEIR OWN BUILDING by the Pels. Rebounds: 44-25. Kyrie might as well be missing this home game. But, gut feeling: This is more about how good New Orleans is than how flawed Brooklyn is."
Nets are getting BULLIED IN THEIR OWN BUILDING by the Pels. Rebounds: 44-25. Kyrie might as well be missing this home game. But, gut feeling: This is more about how good New Orleans is than how flawed Brooklyn is.
Skip Bayless dredged up Kyrie Irving's run-ins with vaccine mandates last season in his scathing review of the team. Mentioning the rebounding statistics, the analyst highlighted a very evident flaw in the team's roster.
With their first loss of the season coming in their first game, the Nets will hope to make readjustments sooner rather than later.
Kyrie Irving fails to shine on opening night
One of the primary characters heading into the Brooklyn Nets' season opener was superstar Kyrie Irving. After all the controversy that shrouded the team in the offseason, Irving had a huge point to prove to critics this season.
Unfortunately, the superstar guard fell drastically short of expectations in this outing against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Notching 15 points, five assists and two rebounds for the game, Irving was locked down quite effectively. Hounded by New Orleans' perimeter defense, the Nets guard struggled to get a shooting rhythm.
He ended the game on 6-19 shooting from the field, 0-6 from three-point land along with a +/- of -18. With a less than impactful performance, Kyrie Irving would be better off forgetting the events of Wednesday night and moving on to the next game.
The New Orleans Pelicans have arrived
Skip Bayless' remarks on the game weren't limited to Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets. While the tweet was primarily a criticism of the Nets' poor performance, Bayless offered praise to the young New Orleans Pelicans squad.
The New Orleans Pelicans showed immense potential last season as well. After taking the top-seeded Phoenix Suns to a seven-game series, the team showed immense potential
Served by a superstar duo of Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson, the up-and-coming Pelicans announced their arrival to the league. After a dominant showing against title-contenders, the NBA will be forced to take note of this young team.
As the duo of Ingram and Williamson play off of each other, other young players in the squad also grow into their roles. Finally appearing like a playoff team, the Pelicans will be a force to be reckoned with.