NETS ROLL WITH KYRIE BACK
With Kyrie Irving returning after missing 26 games with a shoulder injury, Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson had one reservation.
“My fear was being out so long, he’d try to really force things,” Atkinson said.
Irving didn’t force a thing — not a shot, not a pass, not a minute on the floor. He had an almost perfect outing as the Nets cruised by the Hawks, 108-86, in a game they led by as many as 39.
Irving was magical from the start. He shot 10-of-11 from the field for his 21 points, becoming just the sixth player in the NBA this season to attempt at least 11 shots and miss just one or fewer. He joined New Orleans’ Frank Jackson as the only guards to score 20 or more points in less than 20 minutes in a game this season.
“I’m not gonna shoot 10-for-11 every night,” Irving said. “I hope I can, but the reality is I just got it going, felt pretty good, attacked the rim. I’m very grateful for having the coaches and players getting me ready, playing 4-on-4, 5-on-5 and pushing me out there, allowing me to test my shoulder strength against them.
“It’s proof that when you put in work when no one’s watching, you come out and play well. It’s not really a surprise for me. When I do that, I feel like the results will come.”
If Irving had any rust after sitting since Nov. 14 with a right shoulder impingement, the AllStar guard shook it off pregame.
“I liked that he didn’t force anything and he just played like a pro. He was just in a perfect flow, had a nice demeanor and nice rhythm about him,” Atkinson said. “Normally when you come back after a long time, your rhythm is off, you’re going too fast or too slow, you’re not in the right tempo. He was in the right tempo, right place, and I thought defensively, competed his tail off.”
Irving arrived at Barclays Center three hours before the 6 p.m. tip-off. He worked with assistant coach Jacque Vaughn and other trainers for 20 minutes before any other players from either team arrived on the court.
Irving practiced every shot he has in his toolbox: left-handed floaters off the right leg, turn-around fading jump shots at each elbow, spinning bank shots in the mid-range and sidestep threes from each wing.
By the time he got warm, Irving couldn’t miss from downtown. Then he got hot against the Hawks and never cooled off.
It was a pick your poison kind of night for Irving, who did it at every level, finishing at the rim, in the mid-range and draining his only three-pointer of the night — a running pull-up three from deep to give the Nets a 21-9 lead in the first quarter.
On one possession in the first quarter, Irving whirled around a screen before crossing over Hawks forward John Collins to finish with a lefty floater, just like he’d practiced pregame. On the very next possession, he blew by Hawks rookie Brandon Goodwin before extending his arm out and finishing at the rack with one hand.
How were the Hawks supposed to prepare for such a supreme offensive talent?
“You don’t,” Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce said pregame. “We don’t have any film on him from this year. He’s been out for a significant amount of time. What you prepare for is what you know. He’s still Kyrie.”
Kyrie is still Kyrie; always has been and always will be. It’s the reason the Nets signed him to a max contract in free agency, and the reason the entire complexion of the Nets’ season changes now that he’s returned to the lineup.
“I think sometimes you just forget how good this team can be when you add it all up,” Pierce said.
Pierce’s Hawks never truly stood a chance, and any result other than a blowout victory would have been an embarrassment for the Nets at home. Trae Young did not play due to left hamstring pain. That’s 29 points and nine assists missing from a Hawks team carrying the league’s worst record.
But it wasn’t just Irving against the world. Everybody ate for a Nets team that recorded back-to-back victories after losing seven in a row. The Nets jumped out to a 37-16 lead after the first quarter. Five players recorded at least two field goals in the opening period, and six Nets scored in double figures by the time the final buzzer sounded.
The game was basically over when the Nets took a 70-46 lead into halftime.
“Not a lot of fun in that one,” said Pierce, whose Hawks absorbed their 32nd loss in 40 games. “Brooklyn was good. They fed off of Kyrie being back and had some great momentum in that first quarter.”
There wasn’t much to glean from Irving’s first game back from injury because there wasn’t much of a game to begin with. What’s clear, however, is that Irving’s shoulder issues didn’t appear to be much of a problem.
“I have a shoulder maintenance program at this point. Anything that doesn’t really mess up my routine, I’m sticking with it right now,” Irving said. “I’m in the weight room doing what I need to do to prepare at a very high level. And on my off days, there’s really no such thing as an off day. Just keep coming in and really put my body in a great position to be great out there.”
Sunday was proof that, if Irving can stay healthy and on the court, the Nets become a light-years more dangerous team very quickly.