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The Brooklyn Nets are one of the most talked about teams right now. And the biggest focus is whether or not GM Sean Marks may spend his weekend chatting with Sixers President Daryl Morey about a James Harden for Ben Simmons blockbuster trade. It might devastate many Nets fans to see that happen but there are 3 key reasons the team should at least listen to the Sixers' offers.
But while Kevin Durant is rehabbing his sprained MCL, and James Harden is dealing with hamstring tightness, it's Kyrie Irving who has been available for this long and arduous road trip. And the seven-time All-Star is preaching patience and calm admit the hardship.
Friday marked the team's 7th consecutive loss, the most recent a 125-102 drubbing to Donovan Mitchell's Utah Jazz. Irving had 16 points and 6 dimes in his 11th game of the season, but it was an uphill battle. Still, after the game he was the one urging his team not to hit the panic button.
How can they turn this around?
“I wouldn't even say turn it around,” said Nets star Kyrie Irving. “It's really just where we are facing reality that we're not winning ballgames right now and we gotta get out of that whole just one win and then start a new streak form that point, there's no time to feel like our season is in doomsday or we need to push the panic button at all points. But we have to face reality that a lot of our guys, a lot of my teammates, we're still getting to know one another, how do we play what's our spots and defensive tendencies and communication….”
Before the game even started, head coach Steve Nash sang a similar tune as Irving. Even though the team may have some internal problems, and find themselves the subject of trade rumors, Nash urged patience as well.
“I think we built something here that we feel we have a great chance to compete for a championship if healthy,” said Nash. “So none of us are panicking or saying ‘we don’t have the pieces to win,’ we just haven’t had them on the floor at the same time. So I don’t see any kind of of reactive stuff going on at all.”
The Big three were available for just two games this season. In one they beat the Indiana Pacers, in the next they demolished the Chicago Bulls. The latter featured a version of the Nets that looked like it had multiple championships in them. It really does seem as if they feel confident in this group. But at times The Big 3 dream seems far from reality since something always happens to keep one of them out of the lineup. And that may make it tempting for one of them to hit that proverbial doomsday button Irving warns about.
There are not really many easy simple answers here. The Joe Harris news won't please Kevin Durant any more than the Harden news. And around halftime of the teams loss to the Jazz, Nic Claxton reported hamstring tightness also. The more things change the more the Nets have trouble fielding a full, healthy squad. Someone go burn some sage for this group. But don't hit any panic buttons just yet.
