Nets reaction: Brooklyn barely escapes with a win in Kyrie’s return
The Nets got themselves back in the winning column after beating the Detroit Pistons on Friday. They looked to reciprocate in their Monday night matchup with the youthful Minnesota Timberwolves. Lucky for them, they were getting the services of Kyrie Irving again after missing thee straight games.
The game started off with Uncle Drew getting deep in his bag as if he never left. He dropped 15 points while missing one shot after the first period and later he pushed up his scoring total to 19 for the half. The Beard got in on the fun and added 8 assists along with 12 points to finish off his half.
Things got juicy in the second half. With the Nets leading the Timberwolves the whole way through the second half, Minnesota kept fighting and fighting until they created that one chance to tie the game at 110, trailing by three.
To the rescue came James Harden, who at this point had 38 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. He got a stop on Malik Beasley’s attempted off balance three pointer and the ball found its way to Kyrie Irving, who then drained two free throws to seal the game. The villains ran away away with this one to get their 32nd win of the season, but barely.
Kyrie Irving adds a crucial offensive element to this team
In amidst of Kyrie Irving's absence last week, the team lacked an element of their offense that just cannot be replaced. To start off this game, Uncle Drew came out the gates scoring 15 points in the first period. Not many players can catch fire like that and to have someone that brings that type of element to a team offensively, especially to a squad that desperately needed it in a game like this, it's crucial. Last week, Steve Nash said James Harden "carried" the Nets offensively as they barely won against the Pistons, but that can't happen every time if this team wants to win more games.
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot can't seem to shake off his long shooting slump
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot went 0/2 from the field Monday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Last week against the Detroit Pistons, TLC went 2-8 from the field. This is actually not common for the Frenchman this season for he has been in a long shooting slump, which unfortunately for him, has lasted the whole season. Of course yes, here and there he has a good shooting game but it isn't as consistent as it was last season for him. He played a key role in the Nets making the playoffs last season. Overall, he's shooting 38%. Compared to his percentage last year, it was 44%. Whatever it is that's holding TLC back from shaking off this shooting slump is something that he needs to figure out and fast.
The bench just keeps getting better
The Nets already have been seeing shades of great potential from Blake Griffin catching a lob and producing instant impact of the bench in his short time here. He even had some highlight dimes in Monday night's game against the Timberwolves, particularly there was one where he sent a bullet pass to Tyler Johnson in the corner for a three. Now, with LaMarcus Aldridge on his way to add to that bench depth, the bench just keeps on getting better. Considering that Landry Shamet has return only shows how deep this team can go on any given night. The Brooklyn Nets have a lot to look forward to.
1
1
