But who can stop these networks? On Monday, away in Cleveland, Jacque Vaughn’s men validated their ninth consecutive victory (125-117), thanks in particular to the shock duo. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were outstanding on the night, pitching 64 points at wonderful percentages against the Cavs defense.
Should we start worrying about the competition?
You have 3 hours.
Mired in in- and out-of-sport stories early in the season, the Nets appeared to be hitting a brick wall a few weeks ago, but that has all changed since the departure of Steve Nash. The Nets don’t look like shit anymore, it’s the opposing teams that look like shit now facing Brooklyn.
Pivotal game this Monday in Cleveland, Yuta Watanabe’s friends were in Ohio to try to bring down the Cavs, also members of the elite. Led by an extraordinary Darius Garland (46 points and 8 assists on 14/20 shooting), the locals tried to keep an eye on the Nets. And this was seen in the first half, when Kevin Love’s friends had already gotten a little jostled and responded with pride, regaining the lead in front of a possessed crowd. There was reason to believe it, enough to push this Brooklyn team to its limits.
But that wasn’t enough, and especially not in the face of the offensive power of this franchise.
THE NETWORKS WIN pic.twitter.com/at6JJslwl1
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) December 27, 2022
Any silly examples? Initially, Kyrie Irving was low key, letting KD and TJ Warren handle the scoring. So we were heading for a quiet night for Kyrie. Then the boy caught fire and the match changed. A demonic rush at the end of the first half, continued in the second half with assaults from both sides of the guests.
Three points from Durant (5/8), friendly answers from Irving from distance (7/11), otherwise Nic Claxton punished from the back (10 points) and Warren punished from mid-range (23 points). For one of the best defenses in the entire NBA, if not the best, keeping the Nets on a tight leash seemed out of the question.
And it’s not for lack of trying to physically play with them, via Lamar Stevens, Isaac Okoro or others. The problem ? It’s that Brooklyn’s offensive power is such that combined with a very high level of confidence and ball sharing, this team becomes indefensible. And that’s the feeling that came out of Cleveland on Monday night.
The Cavs did what they could, they could (should) have done better than Donovan Mitchell (15 points, 5/16 shooting). But what was ahead was head and shoulders above. And for a team that just beat Milwaukee and Golden State, this new hit was one more reason to start worrying about those Nets. Taking care positively, in the competitive sense.
A ninth consecutive success, a group that lives peacefully, challenges collected one after the other, a KD – Kyrie duo at the height of their prime: we must take these Nets as real favorites for the title, or it is a big pass that will soon leave the place for new dramas?
