I Watched Kyrie Irving’s Second Game Of 2022 (Live)
As one of Portland’s harshest critics, last night was the highlight of the season. Despite being down four starters and nearly half the team, the Blazers showed some heart for the first time all season. Against a loaded Nets team who had the upper hand in the talent department, that didn’t stop a rag-tag bunch from getting the job done.
For the first time since 2019, I was in attendance for such an event. It did not disappoint. Even spending seven whole dollars on bottled water did not dampen the mood.
Warmups
Unlike most sane people, I did not show up at 6:30 for a game that started at 7:00. Instead, I sat just a few feet away from the court as the players warmed up 90 minutes before the game. Again, this is not normal behavior.
When you’re that close to the court, you notice small things. CJ Elleby and Greg Brown Jr. were watching film in the first row. Jusuf Nurkic was watching film on the bench with assistant coach Roy Rogers. Anfernee Simons worked on jump shots with Scott Brooks.
Kyrie and Cam Thomas were some of the notable Nets players warming up that early. Here are a few other weird things I noticed during warmups;
- Robert Covington wanted to hit a half-court shot desperately. For about two minutes he shot from the Blazers logo, until he finally hit one. If I had to guess, it took him about 30 attempts.
- Patty Mills is the current title holder of the Weirdest Player Routine Ever. He would start at the top of the key and take one big jump to near the free throw line. He would then do a 360 spin from where he was standing, then shoot the jumper. Whatever works, I guess?
Interim GM Joe Cronin was also rolling around the court, monitoring his players. I would love to give the guy support, but he hasn’t actually made a move. The jury’s still out on whether he’s going to do a good job with this team.
The Duality Of Brooklyn’s Bigs
The Nets frontcourt depth has been questionable all year long, with last night being another example. The Nets’ usual frontcourt rotation of Claxton, Griffin, and Sharpe all played decent minutes last night, all with varying levels of success.
Nicolas Claxton
Nicolas Claxton is the best center option the Nets have. He’s not perfect by any means, but his versatility on both ends makes him the standard for Brooklyn down low. Last night against Portland was not his night. Claxton had a Terrible; Horrible; No Good; Very Bad Day.
Claxton managed to play just 13 minutes due to foul trouble. He picked up three quick fouls while trying to guard Jusuf Nurkic in the first quarter. It took him just five minutes to get those three fouls, effectively ending his night.
Claxton was one of the Nets I was most excited to see last night. Instead, he sat on the bench and watched from afar. Pain.
Blake Griffin
He’s just bad
Day’Ron Sharpe
Sharpe was the second of Brooklyn’s two first-round picks this offseason. The burly center from North Carolina resembles a bowling ball with how physical he is.
Jusuf Nurkic was a thorn in the side of the Nets’ defense. Nurkic got to the rim anytime he wanted to, except against Sharpe. At 6-11, 265, Sharpe was best suited to bang with Nurkic in the post.
His first-half featured some poor decisions, like a crosscourt pass to Kyrie Irving that went into the scorer’s table. In the 2nd half, Sharpe made some nice plays around the rim. He’s still a little rough around the edges, but he played a great game.
14 points – 7 rebounds – 3 blocks – 6/6 FG – +14 plus/minus
With the struggles of veterans like Griffin and Millsap, I wonder what will happen with Sharpe. He’s talented, but do the Nets have the patience to develop him while they’re trying to contend? Day’Ron Sharpe is going to be a player to watch going forward.
The Blazers Played Defense (gasp)
Now, allowing 108 points doesn’t sound like great defense, but I saw major improvements on an otherwise crappy unit. Deflections, steals, and blocks were aplenty as Portland slowed down the high-powered Nets offense in the 2nd half.
KD and Kyrie shot a combined 8/21 in the 2nd half because we crowded them more. Durant had to watch for weakside swipes, a couple resulting in turnovers. Kyrie missed a few makeable shots but wasn’t wide-open that often.
Here were some of my favorite plays watching from up in the stands;
This is just being scrappy. Claxton is open, but Anfernee does a great job of taking the pass away from the top.
The Blazers have not stopped blitzing ball-handlers in the pick-and-roll. I’d wish they did this less often, but they were great in their rotations last night. Here, Covington meets Griffin at the rim and contests him perfectly.
Sharpe, a bowling ball himself, is met squarely at the rim by Covington. Nurkic does a great job digging down and Portland forces another 4th quarter turnover.
Portland forced 15 turnovers, leading to 14 points. They had 9 loose balls recovered. It was a great defensive game by Portland, a team that has been struggling to find their identity on that end of the floor.
The Nets’ Stars
It would not be a Nets game without talking about their superstars. Even without James Harden, KD and Kyrie are enough of a load to take care of. The Blazers did a good job, but there were some plays that you couldn’t help but just be in awe of.
Durant got chants of MVP all night long. There was a whole section of Supersonics fans behind the Nets bench, cheering loudly any time their savior did something good (he tends to do that from time to time).
Kyrie was booed all night long, for some reason. The occasional jab was thrown in about his vaccination status. The people sitting in front of me, one of them looking like Jim Rash, was hounding the Nets’ stars all night long.
Aside from Jim Rash’s jabs, the Nets’ big 2 was mystifying at times. Watching the action from above gives you a great perspective into just how unguardable they are.
This angle doesn’t do this move justice. In the blink of an eye, Kyrie was all by himself on the perimeter. Nasty.
Ridiculous
It’s easy to forget how good the Nets’ superstars are. Sure, they have some flaws that they have to iron out. I don’t think they’re the best team in the NBA. But with these two (sometimes three) guys on the floor, I’ll give the Nets a fighting chance.
Overview
As a Blazers fan, this is likely going to be the highlight of our season. Damian Lillard’s status for the remainder of 2022 is in the air. The team is eight games under 0.500, the play-in tournament seemingly out of reach as we hit the tarmac of the season.
I think that developing the youngsters like Simons, Little, Elleby, Brown, and Watford should come first. It’s good to know what you have for the grim future Portland has ahead of itself.
This win against the Nets might have been a fluke. Although their defense is poor (because teams are making open shots against them), this might end up being our most impressive win of the season.
As a Blazers fan, I will cherish this memory for a long time as the next few months are going to be anything but fun.
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