The Nets have suffered the wrath of a determined Boston Celtics. Kevin Durant doesn’t seem to be in his playoff mode and Irving has also been inconsistent in the last 2 games. No one expected this from the Nets, but the Celtics came in strong in this redemption first-round series.
This could’ve been avoided if the Nets had done better in the regular season in the first place. Kyrie Irving had missed quite a lot of games, whereas Durant wasn’t on the floor for a while due to injury. Reacting to the Nets’ performance, Stephen A. had some words for Kyrie Irving.
Kyrie Irving missed the majority of the 2021-22 season
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Kyrie had only played 29 games in the regular season. Nets’ record for when Kyrie was on the floor was 14-15. This is not the best record the team could’ve achieved with Uncle Drew on the floor. Irving also averaged 27.4 points and 5 assists. Irving missed the first 35 games of the season, he was not allowed to play home games as he wasn’t vaccinated. His lack of presence is definitely concerning, as Stephen A. went on to discuss it.
Stephen A. Smith goes off on Kyrie Irving
“I would never give him a long-term contract again.”
(🎥 @_Talkin_NBA )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 24, 2022
“I would never give him a long-term contract again. He cannot be trusted. You pay him one year at a time. I don’t care how much money he gets. But you give it to him one year at a time. You know why? Cause you gotta make sure he’s going to show up for work,”
Irving is definitely a magician with the basketball, but his consistency is a bigger problem. Though this does not affect his game at all. Irving dropped 50 points in his 17th game in the regular season. Not only that, 2 games later he scored 60 points on the Orlando Magic. Clearly, his game is not affected by his time off, but if he had played more games, the Nets probably wouldn’t be in such a state. Stephen A. commented on Irving missing games.
“… this man has played more than 11 seasons in this NBA. He has played over 60 games 4 times and there’s 82 games in a season. He is one of the absolute professionals at missing work. I’m not giving him a long-term deal. You got to be crazy.”, said Stephen A.
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Can Irving and Durant make a comeback?
After being down 0-3, no team has come back or at least win the series. Statistically, it seems impossible, the Nets can either make history or go down as one of the worst upsets in league history. Going forward to the next season, Irving will have to be consistent in playing games.
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Do you think there’s any chance of the Nets making a comeback? Do let us know in the comments.
WATCH THIS STORY: Trouble in the ?Land ? Why Kyrie Irving Left LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017