The Brooklyn Nets are currently the hottest team in the NBA. They have won 10 straight games, and on Monday night, they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 125-117 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. As has been the case throughout their streak, the Nets were carried by their NBA superstar duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
Both players scored 32 points as the Cavaliers didn’t have an answer for either player. Both were scorching from the perimeter as well, as Durant knocked down 5-of-8 3-point attempts and Irving went 7-of-11.
Returning to Cleveland is always special for Irving, who spent the first six seasons of his career with the franchise after being selected No. 1 overall in 2011. Irving was part of the Big 3, along with LeBron James and Kevin Love, that helped bring a championship to the city in 2016 over the Golden State Warriors.
That title run came during James’ second tenure with the Cavaliers, as he had unfinished business after leaving to sign with the Miami Heat as a free agent in 2010. Irving was asked about what it was like coming back to Cleveland, and he provided as bizarre of an answer as only Irving can provide.
“The amount of pressure I was putting on myself coming in after the prodigal son, LeBron James, leaves, and I had to take on the ropes after that,” Irving said. “Who knows if I was ever going to live up to that billing. But I put that pressure on myself.”
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What Irving was attempting to get at with that quote is anyone’s guess. Yes, filling James’ shoes was going to be an impossible task as Irving admitted that he learned the hard way that succeeding in the NBA is more than being a one-man show.
Irving has spoken openly about how he regrets the handling of things near the end of his tenure with the Cavaliers. He landed with the Boston Celtics and was in a similar position as James, trying to lead a group of younger players to success. He gained a lot of respect for James after that as he realized how difficult it truly was.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: LeBron James, Kyrie Irving & Cleveland Cavaliers Updates
The Nets are having as much success this season as they have had at any point in the Durant/Irving era. As long as the focus remains on basketball and the team can avoid the kind of drama that plagued them earlier in the season, Brooklyn can live up to the contender status so many bestowed upon them.
