Entering Monday, Kenny Atkinson and the Brooklyn Nets are in the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings with a record of 16-18. They face the Orlando Magic on Monday and Atkinson knows it's important for his guys to send Orlando a message since the Magic are only one game back of the Nets in the standings.
Atkinson, who guided Brooklyn to the playoffs last season, knows the Nets and Magic are going to be close in the standings all season:
.@BrooklynNets coach Kenny Atkinson on battling @OrlandoMagic in the standings: "They'll be there again & we’ll be fighting with them for a playoff spot because they’re too good. We both have our reasons with where we are now, but I expect us to be in a fight with them all year."
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) January 6, 2020
The Nets are currently on a five-game losing streak. They desperately need All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving back. Irving hasn’t played since Nov. 14 due to a right shoulder impingement and is still having trouble lifting up his shoulder when shooting jump shots.
No one in Brooklyn knows when Irving is going to play again. This shoulder injury has been very tricky to deal with for the Nets and Irving.
Irving has appeared in just 11 games this season for the Nets. He's averaging 28.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists while shooting 44.4 percent from the field, 34.1 percent from beyond the arc and 93.7 percent from the free-throw line.
The good news for the Nets is that Caris LeVert is back in the lineup. Monday's game between Brooklyn and Orlando should be a close one since both teams are evenly matched and fighting for playoff positioning.
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