Kyrie Irving is taking the long approach to the Brooklyn Nets season after a rocky start, saying sensibly that the team just needs to learn to win together. That won’t happen, however, if great players on the opposing teams keep lighting up the Nets for 30-plus points.
“It’s a long season in front of us, but we know that these little things are going to keep biting us in the butt. If we allow teams to come in and allow their star players or guys that are in rhythm score plus-30,” Irving said last week, shaking his head, “I think we’ve had a guy score 30 on us every game.”
The above is Irving speaking about the Nets big problem on October 27. Then on October 30, the Nets lost to the Indiana Pacers 125-116.
No Pacers starter scored more than 26 points — and that was Buddy Hield. But the rookie Bennedict Mathurin torched the Nets for 32 points in just 33 minutes of play, going 6-of-9 from three-point and 10-of-10 from the free throw line.
Irving says the Nets need to stop guys from lighting them up for 30-plus, and in comes a rookie making Irving absolutely right and the Nets absolutely futile. They say the first step towards solving a problem is to admit you have it. By that measure, the Nets are on their way.
