Oct 19, 2022; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving (11) is introduced before an opening night game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
NBA: New Orleans Pelicans at Brooklyn Nets
After underperforming in the Nets season debut, Kyrie Irving took to the media after the loss. The 7-time all star scored 15 points on 6-of-19 shooting, 0-6 from beyond the 3-point line.
Irving seemed to be in good spirits in the post-game press conference despite the blowout loss.
“[We] take this buttkicking like a man,” Kyrie said with a grin. “[I] go home to my family and kiss my babies”
Kyrie wasn’t shy to give criticism of his team, where the undersized Nets squad allowed the Pelicans to grab 21 offensive rebounds to the Nets’ 30 defensive boards. This led to New Orleans outsourcing Brooklyn 36-4 in second chance points, ultimately the main reason for the lopsided loss.
“I don’t want to sit in this seat every game saying ‘we should have done this, we should have done that.,” said Irving. “This is a grown man’s league.”
Kyrie also made mention of the Pelicans’ upward trajectory that was reflected by many preseason predictions. The Pelicans’ over/under win total was set at 44.5 by Vegas lines, something Irving suggests shouldn’t be a tough task to topple when mentioning the Pelicans’ future contending for a title.
“New Orleans came with the intent to show us why they are going to be in the hunt for championships.”
