The Brooklyn Nets (2-3) are getting set to take on the struggling (1-4) Indiana Pacers. Kevin Durant and James Harden will try to capture a bounce-back win after Wednesday's 106-93 loss to the Heat. But no story looms as large as that of Kyrie Irving and his vaccination status.
Steve Nash, speaking before the Pacers game, talked about the challenges his team has faced from an offensive standpoint and brought up Irving on his own.
“It’s a process for us,” said the Nets head coach. “We lose Kyrie, as guys are trying to work their way into shape, and ten new guys. It’s different. There’s I think a period of learning to play together. Learning our best path towards scoring the ball effectively and efficiently. It’s a process and it’s gonna take us some time. So it’s not comparable to the prior look in many ways.”
The Nets only scoring 93 points against the Heat was clearly fresh on his mind in making that point.
Earlier in the day, Nets' Governor Joe Tsai talked about Irving and said he hopes the point guard does ultimately change his mind… and quickly.
Joe Tsai tells ESPN he hopes Kyrie 'gets vaccinated as soon as possible,' how they haven't spoken since Nets decided to move forward until he's vaccinated, how he hopes Kyrie is still a part of Nets' long term and how protestors were 'hijacking the issue' https://t.co/AOzYAsuIRm
— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) October 29, 2021
Nash was asked if he has had any communication with the seven-time All-Star and if he learned any clues as to whether or not Irving might one-day change his stance. “I’ve messaged with him,” said Nash. “We didn’t talk basketball. Just connected with him. But I have no update on that front. We didn’t talk about basketball just checked in on him.”
In the meantime, the Nets will focus on what they can control. In the last contest, they were outrebounded 62-42. They relinquished a whopping 17 offensive boards. The head coach referred to that inability to clean the glass as Brooklyn's “Achilles heel.”
Irving's absence has impacted this group in a lot of ways. As Nash has suggested, getting ten new players all on the same page in a short period of time is a tall order. James Harden noted recently that there hasn't even been much time to practice. “We don’t really get practice reps,” said The Beard. “So just trying to figure it out through the course of the game.”
If there has been any theme in the first five games of the year it's that some of the Nets' predictable problems (like team defense and rebounding) have been exacerbated without Kyrie around. At least having him offensively would make these issues less important.
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