The Brooklyn Nets are in trouble without their talisman Kevin Durant as he is out injured and the responsibility of leading the team has landed on Kyrie Irving’s shoulders. But NBA ANalyst Charles Barkley had seen enough of Irving as he suggested that the Nets will not win a single game without Durant. Barkely feels Irving is not a leader similar to Durant and his absence leaves a massive hole in the Nets roster which only Kyrie Irving is unable to fill.
The nets have been excellent till now but now with Durant out injured they have lost the last four matches. They even failed to beat the short-handed Phoenix Suns who did not even have Devin Booker and Chris Paul. So the Nets are in a pretty bad condition and hence some of Barkley’s comments seem justified.
AFter the defeat against the Suns, Barkley said, “I don’t think the Nets will win another game without KD.”
Barkley’s comments may seem far-fetched but it is true as the Nets are struggling and the wheels are coming off very quickly with four straight defeats without Durant. The Nets have not managed to replicate or fill the void left by Durant in terms of a leader or even in terms of a scorer. So Barkley’s concerns are absolutely justified and with Durant’s return date still unclear, troubles will only increase for the Nets.
The Nets are currently fourth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 27-17 and despite these defeats they are still in a great position just because they won a lot early on in the season. However now with their main man gone they need to find a way to stop the losing streak and get back to winning ways.
Speaking about the situation Kyrie Ivring shared how people making comparisons to the Nets last year and this year are wrong and he and the other players do not feel that just because Durant is absent they will be struggling. He also highlighted how it was all merry when they were winning a week ago but now the media are just dismissing them just because they have lost a few games.
“I’m consistently in the lineup, that helps. We also don’t have halfway-in anyone in the locker room and there’s a primary focus on the big picture here. It was all glory-glory last week when we were winning games every game, and now we’re answering questions about potentially struggling. I don’t think we are going to struggle without Kevin now. That’s not my belief. I know guys in the locker room don’t believe that. This isn’t last year at all. So the comparisons have got to stop,” Kyrie shared his mind on the situation.
Kyrie will be hoping to inspire them on the court as well as the Nets take on the Utah Jazz next and their primary aim will be to stop the bleeding and get a win on the board.
