So much for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving needing time to jell. The Nets have come out firing.
If any of the NBA’s top contenders deserved an extra dose of patience early this season, it was the Brooklyn Nets.
Kevin Durant hadn’t played in 18 months due to an Achilles’ injury, Kyrie Irving hadn’t taken the court in 10 months after shoulder surgery, and Steve Nash was making his coaching debut. Aside from those obvious complications, there were other extenuating circumstances: Durant and Irving had never played together, and their pairing required adjustments from key incumbent pieces. Caris LeVert, a talented wing scorer, had to return to a bench role, and guard Spencer Dinwiddie was now cast as a complementary option rather than a lead ballhandler.
Also hanging over the Nets during the preseason were persistent rumors linking them to a possible James Harden trade. Given Irving’s comments last season about a possible roster overhaul and Durant’s longtime friendship with Harden, the trade talk could have proven to be a crippling distraction.
Instead, the Nets have raced out of the gate. Following a blowout win over the overmatched Golden State Warriors on opening night, Brooklyn prevailed Friday with a convincing 123-95 victory over the Boston Celtics in a Christmas Day showdown of Atlantic Division rivals. Durant and Irving took turns dominating the action with their polished and deep offensive repertoires, not skipping a beat after their long layoffs.
Durant’s pairing with Irving looks different than his previous partnerships with Russell Westbrook and Stephen Curry, but it has produced devastating early results. Irving is a better shooter than Westbrook and a more aggressive shot-creator off the dribble than Curry, which makes him a natural fit in Nash’s up-tempo and player-friendly attack. Durant’s early-career Oklahoma City Thunder often devolved into unproductive my-turn, your-turn offense, while his title-winning Warriors teams blitzed opponents with a systemic approach that relied on ball movement and outside shooting.
By contrast, Brooklyn plays fast and loose, empowering Durant and Irving to attack in transition and punish their defenders in half-court situations. When they’re both clicking, as they were against the Celtics, few teams have adequate matchups for both Durant and Irving. Boston has one of the deepest collections of perimeter defenders in the league, yet they had no consistent answer for Durant’s versatility and Irving’s quickness. Already, Brooklyn’s stars look like the East’s most potent duo since the Cleveland Cavaliers paired LeBron James with Irving from 2014 to 2017.
Durant scored 29 points on 9-of-16 shooting against Boston, blowing open the game with a third-quarter flurry that saw him hit a series of jumpers, slash to the basket, and drain a pull-up three-pointer before setting up DeAndre Jordan for a dunk. During the run, Durant looked much like the unstoppable player who was peaking during the 2019 playoffs before his Achilles’ injury. Jayson Tatum scored 20 points for Boston, but couldn’t keep up in his head-to-head matchup with Durant.
“It’s still impressive to watch after all these years,” Nash said. “His length, his skill, his mobility, his athleticism, it’s an incredible package. To have runs like that, it’s nothing for him. For mere mortals of this game, it’s impossible to think of sometimes. He just took over at times.”
Irving, meanwhile, led all scorers with 37 points, including seven 3-pointers, and added eight assists. Boston struggled to contain Irving in space given Brooklyn’s shooting threats and strong spacing, and he worked his way into soft spots for an array of midrange jumpers.
Given their heavy reliance on individual play, the Nets will look mortal when Durant or Irving endures a shooting drought. Yet their ability to create layups and open threes in transition helps keep auxiliary scoring options involved, and both are capable of drawing double teams and finding the open man.
“It’s not just about [Durant and me]. We introduced the world to 7-11, but it’s not just about us,” Irving said in an ABC postgame interview, referencing their jersey numbers. “It’s a great team over here. We have a great collection of individuals.”
Questions remain regarding how, exactly, the Nets will congeal from a collection of individuals into a team. Durant must prove he can remain durable, Irving must emerge as a more consistent defensive piece and the key players around them, particularly LeVert and Dinwiddie, must accept and thrive in their diminished roles. Through two games, the Nets have been effective defensively, if not entirely disciplined, and defensive rebounding will be critical to playing at their preferred pace.
“We’re helping each other out,” Durant said. “We’re putting out fires throughout the possession. Some stuff is all instinct and natural feel. Guys are just making smart IQ plays. We’ve got to keep that up. We gave up a lot of offensive rebounds early on and turned the ball over. If we can control that, we’ll be solid.”
For now, Brooklyn’s vibe has been all smiles. Durant and Irving left the court for garbage time to a round of enthusiastic high-fives, and the Nets have carried themselves more like an established contender rather than a remodeled group searching for its identity. Pure talent has them well ahead of schedule.
“We want this season to go in a very patient current,” Irving said. “We don’t want to rush this. I know what history looks like when you’re a part of it, and I don’t want to take any day for granted.”
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