Getty Brooklyn Nets teammates Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.
On Wednesday night, the Brooklyn Nets had one of the worst first halves of the 2021-22 season and went into halftime down 17-points to the New York Knicks. While they ultimately went on to win the game 110-98, NBA analysts have been sharing their takes on the possible problems Brooklyn faces since the final buzzer.
One of the latest opinions came from Fox Sports’ Chris Broussard. His comments came on the April 7 episode of First Things First. The analyst also shared a tweet of the three-minute clip saying, “For the Nets to be at their best, Kyrie needs to understand that KD is the No. 1 offensive option. KD needs to be Batman, Kyrie needs to be Robin. Not vice versa or even equal, like Kyrie seems to think it is now.”
Do the Nets have a superhero problem?
In the three-and-a-half-minute clip, Broussard starts by saying “the Nets can be dangerous. They can play with and beat anybody in the Eastern Conference.”
However, the analyst went on to add that after what he saw in the April 6 game against the Knicks that he had some concerns.
“My problem with the Nets is their Batman has a Robin mentality, and their Robin has a Batman mentality,” said Broussard. “Last night they were down 17-points at halftime. You know why? A big reason why they were down 17 is because Kyrie Irving almost took twice as many shots as Kevin Durant. Kyrie took thirteen shots in the first half and Durant had seven. And that wasn’t a blip. This is a trend. Kyrie Irving should not be shooting the basketball more than Kevin Durant.”
Looking at the stats, it is a trend. Over the course of the season, Irving averaged one more shot than Durant per game before returning full time. In all the games since the mandate was lifted, allowing the point guard to play in home games, he has averaged two more shots than Durant. Although in Brooklyn’s April games (the last three) Irving has averaged 6.3 shots more than KD.
Cause for Concern?
Now is this a cause for concern for the Nets? Is it a continuation of the “love-hate” relationship between Durant and Broussard? That depends on who you ask. One thing is for sure, Kevin Durant has long shown his ability to be one of the league’s most efficient scorers. The same concern Broussard addressed with Irving was a storyline with Steph Curry when Durant was on the Warriors. The two were neck and neck in field goal attempts per game in the three seasons they played together.
Durant is known to be one of the most difficult defensive matchups in the NBA. He has no problem creating his own shot. Having a teammate like Irving who can also create shots for him and their teammates should be seen as an asset rather than a problem. Especially in the playoffs. Having two players that can score like Irving and Durant is what has so many Eastern Conference teams scared of facing them.