NEW YORK – As the Brooklyn Nets embark on their 2022-23 campaign, they hope to be able to change the narrative surrounding the team and put them back on the floor rather than in the spotlight.
“I want to erase everything that has been said over the last few years about the team’s weaknesses.” Kyrie Irving said on Saturday. “We want to turn them into our strengths. It starts with having good practice habits. please.”
Irving’s comments come after a tumultuous summer for the Nets, including star forwards. Kevin Durantwhich he eventually withdrew, and the uncertainty surrounding Irving’s future with the organization.
Irving admitted that the team had discussed trying to change the image surrounding the group and how the group worked together.
“I am human,” said Irving. “We’re human. Many of us haven’t played all the games we wanted. It’s easy to say we have a chip on our shoulder, but it goes a little deeper than that. We It’s about enjoying the game we love and playing at a high level that not only makes our family proud, but we’re doing everything we can to make each other better.”
Specifically, the Nets hope to improve their defensive intensity with two games left in the preseason. Nets coach Steve Nash admitted he wasn’t happy with his group’s approach to the game after Thursday’s 109-80 loss to the Miami Heat.
“Everyone has a space to speak,” Irving said. “Everyone is equal here. So anyone in the movie room wants to ask something. They can hear it. That’s our approach. Preseason But we don’t want that to make us passive, we’re preparing for a long journey, men are coming to us.
Irving, who didn’t appear in Thursday’s game after he and his wife welcomed their baby boy into the world on Tuesday, said his teammates would occasionally come up to him during Thursday’s game to see what he was doing on the floor. and how they can get better. ”
“We say ‘three trusts,’ but it takes time to build,” says Irving. “And we don’t want to make excuses for what the opponent is doing, what the referee is doing, or what anyone else is doing. We just want to stay where we are.”
Irving looked like he was in a great place on Saturday — sporting a big smile while explaining what he’s been doing for his wife since the birth of the couple’s baby.
“My wife is a warrior,” said Irving. “A woman is everything…I was a caretaker at home and cooked for her.Make sure her feet are massaged. I’m making sure I’m doing everything possible as a husband to make sure.”
