No love for Kyrie but I want to see someone beat them at full strength. Injuries have always played a role in the playoffs but this year it seems over the top.
But what is full strength for the Nets? They built their team around a guy coming off an Achilles in KD, someone who’s has season-ending injuries in two of the prior 3 years in Kyrie, and a guy in Harden who yanked his offseason to force a trade. It’s not like they’ve got bad luck — they knew what they were signing up for, and hoping to get good luck.
This is a great point. The Nets got unbelievable injury luck by having Durant come off a torn achilles and miraculously look just as quick and explosive -- perhaps even more so -- than before. I'm not sure that has ever happened in the history of sports.
Harden had a lingering hamstring issue earlier this season with the Rockets when the Nets acquired him (no?), and besides that, is 31 and plays at a heavy weight to begin with. Kyrie has a history of missing games and has had multiple knee surgeries.
Injuries are a crapshoot for every team, but I'm not sure I see the Nets as somehow uniquely snake-bitten.
I wouldn’t say the Nets are uniquely snakebitten. I’m saying the whole league has been suffering. I’d like to see the best play the best. Instead, team after team is being taken out by injury. It’s title by default; you win by escaping the crap shoot of injury.
I also don’t buy the “it’s their fault” storyline. It’s not just vulnerable players getting hurt. The Cs were probably not going to make a deep run, even if healthy, but when we lost Jaylen that took our chances from slim to none. Denver is without Jamal Murray, leaving Jokic with no help. You could put together a team favored to win it all from the guys who are hurt. I’m sure I’m forgetting others.
On the flip side, Irving landed bad on somebody’s ankle. That could injure anybody. You say Harden didn’t take care of himself, but he’s been durable for years and he rested during the regular season as needed. Durant is, ironically, the one guy still able to play at a high level!
I guess, at least, if the Sixers beat the Hawks they’ll earn their win, but say Embiid goes down, how sorry is that as a way to advance? This is just a plea to the basketball gods: enough already!
