NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 19: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets supports his teammates from the bench in the third quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks during game seven of the Eastern Conference second round at Barclays Center on June 19, 2021 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. | Photo by Elsa/Getty Images
But Milwaukee had to earn it
When Kevin Durant left the Golden State Warriors, that team looked older and was clearly going to have some issues.
His new team, the Nets, was built with championships in mind. Durant has been superb in the playoffs this year, and even more so when you consider how hard it is to recover from an Achilles injury.
But Durant has only played in 35 games this season. James Harden has played in 44 and former Blue Devil Kyrie Irving took the court for 54 although some of those missed weren’t due to injuries.
The three stars have only been together for a handful of games and Durant is now 32, Harden is 31 and Irving will be 30 next March.
Irving went down in Game 4 with an ankle injury and Harden played the series, when he could, with a bad hammy. Durant was left to carry much of the burden and he’s been magnificent, but Brooklyn’s plan went awry in the end as Milwaukee won Game 7 in overtime Saturday 115-111.
They could still do it next season but realistically the window is closing on this team almost as soon as it opened.
Nothing takes away from KD’s brilliant Game 7 performance, as he scored 48 points, grabbed nine rebounds and handed out six asssists. He has a legitimate claim to being the best player in the world now but time is catching up to him and the Nets.
On Sunday we’ll get a Game Seven and a Game One as Seth Curry and the 76ers meet the Hawks, who almost certainly will be without Cam Reddish again, for the right to play Milwaukee.
And out West, Luke Kennard and the Clippers will open the series with Phoenix. The Suns will be without Wake Forest legend Chris Paul, who is currently stuck in the NBA’s Health and Safety protocols. But the Clippers will also lack star Kawhi Leonard who is out with a knee injury.
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