Irving, Durant make Nets an offensive powerhouse
The Nets waited 18 months for Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant to play a meaningful NBA game together.
It was dazzling, if not predictable, basketball.
Irving scored 26 points in 25 minutes, including 17 in the first quarter and 24 in the first half. Durant had 10 points in the first five minutes of the game and finished with 22 points in 25 minutes.
That’s what you get when you pair two gifted offensive players who pressure the defense with their ability to score from all spots in the half-court.
In the first game of what will be an unusual 2020-21 NBA season amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Nets drilled the Warriors 125-99 Tuesday in Brooklyn.
The Nets are an offensive power. Yes, just one game. But it’s not an overreaction based on a small sample size or unknowns. Durant and Irving are AllStars.
Joe Harris (10 points), Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert (20 points and prime Sixth Man of the Year potential), Jarrett Allen, Landry Shamet, DeAndre Jordan, Jeff Green and Taurean Prince have proved what they can do in the NBA. It is a deep roster.
Then, add first-year head coach Steve Nash, the two-time MVP who was an on-court driving force of one of the most innovative offenses of his era with the Suns. And one of his assistant coaches is Mike D’Antoni, who coached Nash in Phoenix and helped turn James Harden into an offensive force.
Brooklyn scored 40 points in the first quarter and had 77 with eight minutes left in the third quarter and reached 100 early in the fourth. Granted, it was against the undermanned and developing Warriors. But points are points against paid professionals.
“We didn’t spend a ton of time on offense in training camp,” Nash said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do and that’s going to be a continual process. ... I’d be lying if I said we weren’t blessed with a lot of great offensive players and depth with a lot of shooting. We should be able to score the ball – that shouldn’t be a problem.”
The Nets won’t score 40 points in a quarter every game, but they’re capable of it. Irving and Durant can break down defenses when they’re not on the court together. When they are, the defense is left in compromised positions especially with other capable scorers around them.
Irving and Durant wanted to play together, signing with the Nets in free agency in the summer of 2019. But they knew they wouldn’t play together last season as Durant rehabbed an Achilles injury suffered in the NBA Finals against the Raptors when he played for the Warriors.
“I tried not to make too big a deal out of it,” Durant said of his first game in 18 months.
Irving played in just 20 games last season, ending his season on Feb. 1.
By the time a truncated training camp rolled around for this season, Durant and Irving were ready. They showed some of what they could do in the preseason and then unveiled for more to see in the league’s season opener on TNT.
They are friends off the court and that rapport is obvious on the court. At one point in the first quarter Irving and Durant were a combined 9-for-13 shooting for 22 of Brooklyn’s 28 points.
Cavaliers star Kevin Love, watching on TV, tweeted, “Not even a quarter in and damn.. .KD and Kyrie gonna be something special to watch this year.”
Durant said he’s not 100%, but that might be splitting percentage points. He made his first three shots with his soft jumper and baseline drives. It takes great effort to make it look so effortless, and it won’t be long before he returns to the All-NBA discussion.
“He looks like Kevin, plays like Kevin but I don’t want to start making expectations of him until he gets going and gets some games and rhythm under his belt and adapts to playing three (games) in four nights and playing almost every other night,” Nash said.
Irving scored in his usual ways of jump shots and creativity near the rim using his great footwork, dribbling and shot making. Irving has made just two All-NBA teams. The league is deep with guards but a third All-NBA honor could be in his future.
Not that Irving is worried about that. Along the way of his career, he has had an epiphany about goals and accomplishments.
“As a young player, you think scoring a bunch of points, doing a bunch of things and getting accolades are great. I definitely was going after those things,” said Irving, who wore a poncho in his postgame news conference that read “Sure you trust the government! Just ask a Native American.”
“Now, I really don’t care for any of those individual accolades or goals. It really doesn’t bother me. I know I’m validated culturally. That’s all that matters. I don’t need an All-NBA. I don’t need an MVP.
“I just want a championship with a great team that I can look back on history and say we did it our way and we had fun doing it.”
With that attitude, good luck to the rest of the league slowing that offense.