The Brooklyn Nets' continued decline caused ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith to express his concerns on a Wednesday morning edition ESPN morning show “Get Up” to highlight the absence of the Philadelphia 76ers' biggest stars, the lack of shooting from forward Kevin Durant and lack of effort in the Wells Fargo Center.
“It was the worst loss by an NBA team this season,” Stephen A. Smith said. “It was one of the most disgraceful performances I have ever seen from any NBA team. The Brooklyn Nets should be ashamed of themselves.”
"It was one of the most disgraceful performances I've ever seen from any NBA team. The Brooklyn Nets should be ashamed of themselves."
—@stephenasmith on the Nets' loss to the 76ers 😳 pic.twitter.com/GRnABUF1ZC
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) November 23, 2022
The Philadelphia 76ers won in the Wells Fargo Center last Tuesday without All-NBA Center Joel Embiid, a three-time scoring NBA champion in James Harden and a breakout scoring guard in Tyrese Maxey, building upon the momentum from a hot-stretch from the 3-point line to take a 115-106 victory in front of a home crowd with just above 21,400 in attendance.
Kevin Durant, guard Kyrie Irving and guard Ben Simmons combined for 54 points, 14 assists and four steals in an average of 33 minutes played. Stephen A. Smith cited Durant's lack of shooting as a reason for concern from the Nets' performance after he shot 14 shots, two ahead of guard Seth Curry and four less than Irving.
“It was a character performance,” Stephen A. Smith continued. “When you play the way that they played last night, every question we've had about the Brooklyn Nets as it pertains to their basketball character comes into play.
“I felt bad for (Nets head coach) Jacque Vaughn. Those guys showing up there last night didn't play.”
A former reporter and editor for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Stephen A. Smith echoed the message of a flurry of NBA tweets following Wednesday's game. He brought up a story of an altercation between Harden and Irving invented by a fake satirical account when previewing the matchup between the two Northeast Division squads on Tuesday.
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