NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 18: Kevin Durant #7 and Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets look on ... [+]
Over the weekend, Kyrie Irving was asked what he hopes to achieve with the Nets in the second half of the season.
“Get healthy,” Irving replied with a laugh, while adding that getting a No. 6-8 playoff seed in the Eastern Cofnerence is a realistic goal for Brooklyn.
“That’s the most important priority for us.”
Himself included.
The 27-year-old All-Star point guard has a new injury — right hamstring tightness — that kept him out of Monday’s 117-111 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, the team’s fourth straight setback.
Irving has already missed 26 games due to a right shoulder impingement.
“We’ll play it cautious,” Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said. “Don’t want it to be long-term, so that’s the plan.”
Injuries have continued to plague Brooklyn (18-24), preventing the team from building chemistry.
Caris LeVert has already missed 25 games after undergoing thumb surgery.
Recently, DeAndre Jordan (finger), Joe Harris (back) and Garrett Temple (knee) have all missed time due to various ailments. Wilson Chandler missed 25 games due to a suspension and has been dealing with hamstring tightness himself. Of course, Kevin Durant is also expected to miss the entire 2019-20 campaign as he recovers from an Achilles injury.
All of it has left the Nets’ rotation in a constant state of flux. They got some good production from youngsters Nic Claxton (15 points), and Timothy Luwawu-Cabbarot (12 points) on Monday, but didn’t have a superstar to counter Ben Simmons down the stretch. Simmons finished with 34 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists and five steals in 42 minutes.
The Nets, meanwhile, finished with 10 turnovers in the fourth quarter.
Ultimately, the team has bigger goals in mind.
“The most important thing we have is the same intent,” Irving said of his close friendship with KD. “It’s to win a championship here together (as a group).”
Injuries could end up being the biggest issue in making that happen.
Irving has appeared in 70 or more games in just three of his nine NBA seasons. LeVert is trying to keep the “injury-prone” label away.
And Durant will be coming back from a significant injury himself — even if many, including Dominique Wilkins, believe KD can return to being the player he once was.
“We have to continue to have the ‘next man up’ mentality, ban together as a unit,” said Spencer Dinwiddie, who has put himself into All-Star consideration due to his nightly production on a decimated team.
“Gain as much chemistry as possible, play as together as possible, do all those things. ... I feel like we probably haven’t had one nine-man rotation for three straight games all season and that’s obviously tough.”
