Miami Heat: An In-Depth Look & Preview At Brooklyn Matchup
By Isiah Curry
If Kevin Durant isn’t enough for the Miami Heat and though without Harden, Kyrie Irving is certainly formidable as well.
Irving has appeared in 40 regular season games, a higher output than both Durant and Harden. However, Irving has also missed time, but not much of his absence was injury-related.
Earlier in the season, Irving made headlines as he faced a great deal of media backlash after having several team excusals from the Nets for personal reasons. It was even questioned if Irving should even continue his basketball career.
However, when Irving is on the floor, all of the off-court farce seems to just magically disappear. His talent cannot be outshined.
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On the season, Kyrie is averaging 27.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 6.1 assists on a career-high 61.8 percent True Shooting percentage. That’s pretty good, huh?
In short bursts, the Heat were able to witness the Nets trio of Durant, Harden, and Irving (186 minutes on the floor together this season in total). While Miami dropped both of their previous outings to the Nets, the Heat were slammed with injuries, and were also missing their leading scorer, best defender, and vocal leader in Jimmy Butler.
In Jimmy Butler’s absence and though both in defeat, it was Bam Adebayo who shined. He would finish the first contest with 41 points, five rebounds, and nine assists on 14-20 shooting from the field and though not as electric, was good in the second game as well.
In late March though, the Nets acquired veteran Power Forwards Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge following contract buyouts with their teams and after clearing waivers.
Aldridge, however, has since announced his retirement after he was reportedly diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat, a condition he apparently has battled for the last fifteen seasons. Aldridge played just five games with the Brooklyn Nets.