“The most glorified first-round exit in the history of the NBA” - Jalen Rose believes Kevin Durant wouldn’t be able to win anything by himself with doubts over Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons
Kevin Durant's ability to carry Brooklyn far into the NBA postseason was questioned in Thursday’s episode of “Jalen & Jacoby.” Jalen Rose voiced his opinion about Brooklyn not being able to make it past the first round of this year's playoffs.
Kevin Durant not able to win anything by himself
Jalen Rose predicted that Brooklyn is going to be:
“The most glorified first-round exit in the history of the NBA.”
Rose said he simply does not believe Kevin Durant is going to be able to do it all alone.
“I know the greatness of Kevin Durant. … But what I’m trying to tell people like you, it’s a team game. And here’s another thing I’m going to tell you that you’re not gonna like about this team game: He’s so very great, that he ain’t great enough to lift a team by himself.”
The Brooklyn Nets (36-34) are in eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Before the season, they were favored to win the East. But Durant went out with a knee injury, igniting an 11-game losing skid that turned into a 3-17 swoon from Jan. 23 through March 6.
In that stretch, James Harden was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for Ben Simmons and Seth Curry. Meanwhile, the unvaccinated Kyrie Irving is still not allowed to play NBA games in New York City because of a vaccine mandate. What's more, there's no date for the debut of Simmons (back injury), who didn't play for Philadelphia while holding out for a trade.
As Rose explained, Durant might not be able to do it himself.
Curry has averaged 15.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in his first 11 appearances.
Durant is averaging 29.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. His scoring average is similar to players in the MVP conversation.
Rose said:
“Having KD does give you a puncher's chance. But if Ben Simmons is not gonna be an All-Star level player, and Kyrie Irving decides to still not get vaccinated ...”
If the season ended today, Brooklyn would play the seventh-place Toronto Raptors (39-30) in the Seven-Eight Game of the play-in tournament. If that is the case, Irving would not be able to play because of Canadian vaccine laws.
(The winner of the Seven-Eight Game becomes the No. 7 seed in the first round of the playoffs. The loser plays the winner of the Nine-Ten Game for the No. 8 seed in the playoffs.)
Rose touched on the fact that many people blamed Brooklyn’s exit last year on the fact that Durant could not be expected to do it all alone. Rose said that's the exact reason why he believes Brooklyn is not going to make it far in the postseason.