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Brooklyn Nets superstar Kyrie Irving has been putting up big numbers since his return from a lengthy shoulder impairment, but his team has continued to struggle as of late.
Losers of their last four games and 11 of their last 13 matches, the Nets are now clinging to the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference with an 18-24 win-loss record.
Obviously, Irving is not happy with how the Nets are playing. He believes the talented squad is underachieving so far, and so he issued a challenge to his teammates.
Article Continues Below“When we have championship aspirations — that’s where we want to be — how do we get there? Do we want to be the eighth seed? The seventh seed?” Irving said, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “But you’re able to be real with the team you have here, and to collectively, cohesively come together as a group. That’s what you figure out.
“But the goals are still to win a championship. I don’t come in every day to frickin’ be mediocre or to be in the middle of the standings. No.”
After emerging as one of the biggest winners during the offseason's free agency bonanza — where they nabbed superstars Irving and Kevin Durant — Brooklyn was expected to be a force right off the gate. Injuries were indeed a big factor in the Nets' poor start, but the team should still be able to contend with the amount of talent they have.
Kyrie Irving, meanwhile, cooled off after back-to-back efficient outings since returning from injury. He only shot 6-for-21 versus the Philadelphia 76ers and went 6-for-15 against the Milwaukee Bucks, which both ended in losses. Irving sat out the team's rematch against the Sixers last Monday.
In the 15 games he’s played, Irving is averaging 26.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game.
