Kyrie Irving went off for 42 points in Tuesday night's win over the Rockets, and most encouragingly, shot 54 percent from the field and 50 percent from downtown.
The efficient shooting night was a welcomed sight considering Irving's shooting struggles since returning to full-time status with the Nets. In his previous five games prior to Tuesday night, Irving was shooting just 36 percent from the floor, and Brooklyn lost three of those contests. Irving himself admitted Tuesday that getting back to full-time conditioning has been an adjustment, one that will be put to the test on Wednesday night against the Knicks, the second half of a back-to-back after playing 40 minutes on Tuesday.
"I don't want to say it's easy, but the way I had to prepare was a lot different than what I have to do now, which was I got a week off or five days or four days and coming in pressure environments, that's what I enjoy," Irving said. "When I'm healthy, living up to the challenge and kind of living with the results. But there's nothing like being in the grind and doing it the way we're doing it now. I had a lot of help from the coaching staff, a lot of players. They really helped me ramp up."
Irving spent the first two months of the season sidelined due to his vaccination status, then the next nearly two months playing only in road contests outside of New York and Toronto. Suddenly, he has been thrust back into a full-time spot where every game counts for the Nets' play-in positioning, and with Joe Harris, Seth Curry, and Ben Simmons all sidelined, Brooklyn badly needs Irving on the floor as often as possible. His full-time presence wasn't helping the Nets right away, but as he gets his wind back, he hopes to get back to being a difference maker like he was on Tuesday.
"Once I got the call that I could come back into the practice facility, work out with the guys, I was there almost every day," Irving said. "When the guys were at home, I had a stay ready group, so I was playing with a lot of the young guys, a few of the coaches. That helped me out a lot, but there's nothing like playing every other day or back-to-back games and really testing your body, challenging your body.
"And it's not just a physical challenge, it's a mental one. It's an emotional one, too. In the last three games that I had before coming here and sitting with you guys, I felt like I was getting my legs back, you know, just trying to find a flow again."
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