“You’re already seeing Kyrie’s numbers come down” - Brian Windhorst on Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant’s minute’s potentially being a concern for the Nets
The Brooklyn Nets, despite having two of the greatest NBA players of recent times in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, have performed far below expectations this season. With a 43-38 record, they are currently in the seventh position in the Eastern Conference, and have clinched a spot in the play-in tournament.
With Ben Simmons ruled out for the regular-season, Durant and Irving find themselves carrying the load of a team just over .500. Brian Windhorst, on ESPN's "The Hoop Collective," talked about how overworked Irving and Durant have been these last few weeks:
"They are already playing (Kevin) Durant and (Kyrie) Irving huge minutes. For the last two week, they are number one and number two in the league in minutes played, both over 41, You're already seeing Kyrie's numbers come down as he's been asked to go to the heavier workload."
Overworking Durant and Irving right before the playoffs may not bode well for the Nets. To that end, Windhorst pointed to a Kevin Durant quote from earlier in the season:
"At the beginning of the season, people were saying 'Hey Kevin, if your foot hadn't been on the line and you hit the three against the Bucks and you win the series instead of going to overtime, you guys were gonna go to the finals and win.' And he was like 'No way man, I was exhausted'"
The Brooklyn Nets play the Indiana Pacers (25-56) in their final regular-season game on Sunday. The Nets are the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference, and hold the tiebreaker over the Cleveland Cavaliers (43-38).
Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets' turbulent 21-22 NBA season
The Nets have had an extremely rocky season. In the first half, things weren't looking too good as Harden looked uninterested, and with the rule changes, wasn't getting the calls he lived off of in his twilight years in the NBA. He eventually played 44 games, and was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Kyrie Irving was going through problems of his own, and the New York vaccine mandate kept him out of playing in home games, and his return to the Barclays Center was too late to salvage the Nets. Kevin Durant missed a substantial chunk with an MCL sprain, and although he was performing at an MVP level before, since his return, the Nets are 11-7.
Despite all the ups and downs of the regular season, nobody would like to see Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in a seven-game series, especially in the first-round of the playoffs.
Goodnight, #NetsWorld https://t.co/VIqABnJexC