In First Game Of Irving’s Suspension, Nets Rediscover Joy In Rout Of Wizards
Kyrie who?
I’m not sure how much winning a team like the Nets can generate in a league that depends so much on talent if superstar guard Kyrie Irving remains suspended for a period much longer than his minimum five-game ban due to his hurtful defense of antisemitic content which he promoted on social media (and for which he finally apologized in an Instagram post on Thursday night), but it was sure nice to watch this team play with joy again in Washington on Friday night.
It was like a proverbial anvil had been removed off of their chest as Brooklyn absolutely walloped the Wizards, 128-86, matching their largest margin of victory in a road game in franchise history. Seven of their 11 available players reached double figures, with Joe Harris a bucket short.
I wouldn’t be shocked if the reports that some Nets players had grown tired of Irving’s act were accurate. Never mind his penchant for finding ways over his three-plus seasons in Brooklyn not to join his teammates on the floor, Irving’s disengagement during Tuesday’s 108-99 home loss to Chicago, where he scored just four points in 33 minutes and got toasted on defense, was all too evident and off-putting.
Whether it was because he was playing close to his home town or he took the absence of his friend Irving (plus injured Ben Simmons and Seth Curry) as a personal challenge, Kevin Durant led the way, falling one rebound shy of a triple-double with 28 points, 11 assists, and 9 rebounds in 33 minutes. His crossover that felled Washington center Daniel Gafford, making him look, as Nets exquisite radio voice Chris Carrino described, like a young deer on a sheet of ice, before converting the jump shot from the elbow in the second quarter had virtually every denizen inside Capital One Arena howling in disbelief.
It was also hard to believe that the Nets could run away from any NBA team given the limited options at interim coach Jacque Vaughn’s disposal. Partiality-guaranteed free agent acquisition Edmond Sumner started at point guard and sophomore Cam Thomas, who briefly voiced his displeasure over his lack of playing time with a hashtag on his Instagram bio after Tuesday’s loss, was the first man off the bench and scored 17 points.
But perhaps no Nets player embodied their newfound joie-de-vivre than reserve forward Yuta Watanabe, who put up 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting, 8 rebounds, and 2 emphatic blocks. I’m fairly sure Watanabe’s theee-point shooting will eventually regress to his mean—he’s 9-of-15 (60%) on the season—but for now, he has been everything Nets fans hoped 2021 second-round pick Kessler Edwards could be this season.
While Edwards is with G-League Long Island dusting off the cobwebs from inactivity in Brooklyn, Watanabe has been more than just an efficient stand-still shooter. He drives closeouts and you could tell that he was schooled by Toronto coach Nick Nurse in the art of team defense. The Nets even played about 3-and-a half minutes with four guards/wings plus Watanabe at the 5 and still kicked Washington’s butt (ok, it was 7-3, but I’m still on a high from making the trip to watch it live).
Look, I get that this new era of good feelings could all dissipate with a stinker on a back-to-back in Charlotte on Saturday night and that the Wizards aren’t exactly the Warriors—they played soft and some of their choices with the basketball were rather interesting on Friday night—but if the Nets are to get themselves out of this 3-6 hole, they have to play with energy and joy.
Irving and Simmons, who has swelling in his knee after missing all of last season with mental and back issues, tend to suck all that out from their teams when things aren’t going well. Yes, they have unparalleled respective skills, but they’re moody and unreliable.
Irving in particular is a ball-stopper, for which he deservedly is entitled to some rope given his supreme ability to handle the ball and finish from all three levels. However, he too often freezes out his teammates with a hero-ball mentality. On Friday, the ball was popping. NBA.con’s tracking hadn’t been updated as of this writing, but I’d bet that Brooklyn exceeded it’s 21st-place ranking of 275 passes per game.
Nets General Manager Sean Marks didn’t offer any clarity during Thursday’s impromptu press conference when it came to how long Irving will be sidelined or what specific steps need to be taken for him to return to the team in good graces. There are some reports that owner Joseph Tsai has had it with Irving, though shutting down options seems unlike him.
In the end, the Nets probably won’t be a better team while two of their three max contract players are absent, but they have the potential to be a fun one.