But who can stop these Nets? Traveling to Cleveland on Monday, Jacque Vaughn’s men validated a 9th victory in a row (125-117), in particular thanks to their shock duo. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were exceptional on the night, planting 64 points at wonderful percentages once morest the Cavs defense.
Should we start worrying regarding the competition?
You have 3 hours.
Mired in intra- and extra-sports stories at the very start of the season, the Nets seemed to be heading into a wall a few weeks ago, but everything has changed since the departure of Steve Nash. The Nets no longer seem in shit, it’s the opposing teams that seem in shit now facing Brooklyn.
Crucial match this Monday in Cleveland, the friends of Yuta Watanabe were in Ohio to try to bring down the Cavs, also members of the elite. Carried by an extraordinary Darius Garland (46 points and 8 assists at 14/20 shooting), the locals tried to keep an eye on the Nets. And that was seen in the first half, when Kevin Love’s friends had already been jostled a little and responded with pride, regaining the advantage in front of a possessed public. There was reason to believe in it, enough to push this Brooklyn team to its limits.
But it was not enough, and especially not in the face of the offensive power of this franchise.
NETS WIN pic.twitter.com/at6JJslwl1
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) December 27, 2022
Stupid example? Initially, Kyrie Irving was low key, letting KD and TJ Warren take over scoring. So we were heading towards a quiet night for Kyrie. Then the boy caught fire, and the match changed. A demonic run at the end of the first half, continued in the second half with assaults coming from both sides of the visitors.
Three-pointers from Durant (5/8), friendly responses from Irving from a distance (7/11), otherwise Nic Claxton punished at the bottom (10 points) and Warren punished at mid-distance (23 points). For one of – if not the – best defenses in the entire NBA, keeping the Nets on a leash just seemed out of the question.
And it’s not for lack of trying to play physical 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 emanated from Cleveland on Monday night.
The Cavs did what they might, might have (should have) had better from Donovan Mitchell (15 points, 5/16 shooting). But what was in front was a cut above. And for a team that just beat Milwaukee and Golden State, this newfound success was all the more reason to start worrying regarding those Nets. To care positively, in the sense competitively.
A 9th success in a row, a group that lives peacefully, challenges taken on one following the other, a KD – Kyrie duo at the height of their zenitude: should we take these Nets as real favorites for the title, or is it a great pass that will soon give way to new dramas?