A frustrating season ended in the most disappointing way for the Nets, getting swept in their first round series against the Celtics and losing the last two on their home floor.
“Disappointment, and a little sadness because we didn’t play as well as a team as we wanted to,” Kyrie Irving said after Game 4 of the end of the Nets’ season. “We can throw out all the things that happened this season, but now that the series is done, just disappointment and sadness.”
“I’ll miss going to the gym and the routine, because what we do is the best job in the world, doing your passion for a living,” Kevin Durant added. “When it ends like that, you start thinking about the whole year.”
Goran Dragic was “sad,” Bruce Brown was “pissed,” and head coach Steve Nash was “frustrated,” but to KD’s point, the only thing the Nets could do after tipping their proverbial caps to the Celtics was look back at what went wrong, and start looking ahead to the future.
And, to a man, the answer to the former was the same: lack of continuity and roster flux.
“The continuity is huge. Having so little time together made it tough, and the state of our group at the end of the year made this a tough matchup,” Nash said. “Kind of definitely showed and exploited where we were exposed a bit.”
“We could start with just us gelling as a team. I’ve said it before – down the stretch, we were able to be in spots were all comfortable and have a lineup that can match up well,” Irving added. “But it’s about being prepared in a way that we’re playing on instinct. There was a lot of thinking going on out there, and you’re thinking too much, you’re not having the game you want and playing in the flow.”
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As KD noted, though, every team faces struggles, it’s about how you navigate around them.
“I wish we were healthier and had more continuity as a group, but every team goes through that,” Durant said. “You can definitely use those things to gauge what kind of team we had and the reason we lost games, but a lot of stuff happens through the season that needs to go well to be the best team. A lot of things didn’t go our way.”
Goran Dragic joined the Nets late in the season, but he experienced the entire whirlwind, having to get up to speed amidst injuries, the James Harden trade, and his own bout with COVID, so he understands how difficult it was for the team to gel.
“It was difficult, but I’m a guy who doesn’t like excuses. We were just not good enough, and they were just better, so they swept us,” Dragic said of the season and the playoff series. “Boston is a good team who plays together, with a lot of guys who play hard.”
As Gregg Giannotti noted on WFAN’s morning show Tuesday, to go from being favorites to win the NBA title at any point to being swept in the first round is a monumental fall, but the head coach wouldn’t call it an underperformance.
“When you add it all up its hard to say they underperformed because they had so little time together, and to be outsized at every position, it would be unfair for me to overreact and say 4-0 in the first round was underperforming,” Nash said. “The state of the roster, the fatigue, all the things we went through – that would be harsh to say. We never wanted to give up on our expectations even though we were under duress, but at the same time, you have to be realistic of where we were at the end of the year.”
Still, despite the ending, a lot of players are in shock at the outset, but proud of what the Nets fought through to even get this far.
“It’s tough to lose and end your season anytime, because not being able to do what we love to do is going to be a shock for a few weeks, but it’s a cycle for us,” Durant explained. “We had high expectations, and a lot of stuff happened that derailed us, but I’m proud of how we just kept fighting every day. A lot of stuff in this series didn’t work in our favor, but I like the way we tried to come together at the end of the season. Once we finally got together, we had a mission to make the playoffs and see what kind of noise we make – we made the playoffs but didn’t make noise.”
Added Nash: “It’s frustrating, but at the same time, I look at the season and I’m proud of everyone that hung in there when we were depleted and lost 18 of 21 or whatever it was, and continued to push. A lot of times in sports, things can unravel in those situations; everything took its toll, but I’m proud of how our guys battled.”
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And now comes an offseason of flux, as Kyrie has to decide if he wants to opt-in to his final year (he says he does), and Brooklyn has just six others under contract (seven if Patty Mills also opts in). The roster could look a lot different next year – even just having Ben Simmons and/or Joe Harris will make a difference – but for now, the Nets will come to terms with what could’ve been, and then immediately look forward to what could be.
“I don’t know contract situations, but when we lose in the playoffs, you look ahead to next year,” Durant said, “and I know there’s some high expectations for us.”
Added pending free agent Bruce Brown: “Hopefully (I’ll be back), but I’m not thinking too much about it. If there’s a chance to stay, we’ll talk about it, but we’ll see.”
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