The Brooklyn Nets have had months of distractions and, to be clear, earlier this summer Kevin Durant was one of them. The superstar forward with the ability to plain put the ball in the basket in any style from anywhere demanded a trade over the summer, before relenting and saying, essentially, alright let’s just ball then, I’m ready.
And ready Durant has been, averaging 31 ppg on 50-plus percent shooting, even if his underperforming Nets have floundered. That’s because even after Durant called off his trade demand, the distractions in Brooklyn have persisted.
The presence of mercurial, troubled guard Ben Simmons has proven not just detrimental to his previous team, the don’t-let-the-door-hit-you-on-the-way-out-Ben 76ers, but also to the Nets. Whatever his future holds, Simmons has quickly dashed all hopes Brooklyn had that he’d show up in All-Star form.
Now Durant’s top running mate Kyrie Irving — like Durant (almost), a player able to drop buckets in all manner of ways — has inadvertently made the team a sideshow next to his personal narrative after getting suspended for sharing anti-Semitic content and refusing to apologize. Oh, yeah, the Nets also fired their coach, NBA legend and two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash.
And guess what?
The Nets have started to win! Two straight anyway, moving Brooklyn to 4-6. And though their opponents (Washington, Charlotte) haven’t been the cream of the crop, Durant looks as free as he has as a Net in the last two games. His scoring — 27 and 28 ppg respectively — is actually down a few points during the span, but he’s doing everything to ensure the Nets compete. Against the Wizards, Durant added 9 rebounds and 11 assists in the first game without Irving. As one fan writes on Instagram, KD just ballin’.
