By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
With four games left in the 2021-22 NBA Regular Season schedule, the Brooklyn Nets are now officially locked in a Play-In series. On the wrong end of the result for the fourth time in the last six outings sank the team to 40-38 Saturday evening.
“Every loss is deflating,” explained Durant after his career-high 55 points against the Atlanta Hawks went to waste, “I ain’t even worried about that. I am just mad at the loss. Glad, I shot the ball well, eight threes career high. But I wish we would’ve come out with the W. Just by doing the little stuff. My points are going to come, my shots are going to come. So, the little stuff that we got to do we got to be on the same page. I can’t come in here acting like I’m losing confidence. We lost some games, we’ll keep playing until it’s over.”
“It doesn’t even feel like he had 55 tonight,” added Kyrie Irving commenting on his teammate’s performance in the latest installment of NBA Saturdays, “You know what I mean? Just the way that we feel about the game afterwards.”
Picking up from the Play-In, the two-time NBA champion and teammates will need to confirm their status as contenders securing a spot in the Playoffs in the final possible opportunity. With favorable results the rest of the way, it is still possible to rank all the way up to seventh in the East, but the sixth seed and a direct Playoff berth are now out of reach.
Certainly, a demanding situation. To make matters worse, Slovenian Goran Dragic was placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols. “He has symptoms. He doesn’t feel well, but that’s all I know,” noted head coach Steve Nash.
Dragic, 35, has averaged 7.3 points, 4.8 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 0.9 steals per contest providing a boost to the backcourt since joining the Brooklyn organization as a free agent in late February. He is likely to be cleared to return in time for the Play-Ins.
Photo Credit: Getty Images