Charles Barkley goes off on Kyrie Irving and the Nets: "I just hope they lose"
It's sad that we have been talking more about Kyrie's vaccination status all season rather than watching this phenomenal talent play and entertain us with his flashy moves. It is what it is. At least recently, we had a step forward with Kyrie starting to play in road games. An unprecedented case that caused mixed reactions in the NBA world and stirred up a lot of talks. Well, it seems Charles Barkley has had enough of it.
The Nets lose in Kyrie's homecoming to Cleveland
The NBA was celebrating MLK day yesterday, as they decided to treat us to a bunch of great games. One of the most exciting ones went down to the wire in Cleveland, where the young Cavaliers beat the Brooklyn Nets.
The Nets were obviously handicapped, missing their best player in Kevin Durant, but James Harden and Kyrie Irving on the court were enough to make the Nets the slight favorites. Like we have seen all season, the Cavs are serious.
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In a tight battle that would come to a last-minute finish, Cleveland, led by Darius Garland (22p,12a) and great all-around production from the rest of the team, earned an important win. On the other side, Kyrie played his best game of the season, scoring 27 points along with 9 assists and 7 rebounds. But Harden and the rest of the supporting cast failed to deliver enough production to snatch away a road win.
The Nets are still amongst the top teams of the East, with a 27-16 record, with the young Cavs creeping in right behind them, with a 27-18 record. It's apparent the Nets have maybe even the most talented roster of players. But they simply can't put all of their guys out there together. We have seen KD and Harden have some fantastic games this season, and when you see Kyrie play the way he did last night, it's hard to imagine how good the Nets would look with all three stars available and on fire.
Charles is done with Kyrie and the Nets
While some fans feel sorry for the Nets and wish they could have their "Big 3" together, others have no sympathy for them. One of them is definitely Charles Barkley. The NBA Hall-of-Famer and hilarious TNT analyst is known for his blunt and non-filtered reactions, as he decided to make his finishing point about Kyrie and his part-time arrangement with the Nets:
"I'm not talking about this dude(Kyrie Irving) anymore. I just hope they lose. Period."
Charles Barkley, NBA On TNT
Pretty straightforward from "Sir Charles," but this is how a lot of the NBA fandom feels. Everyone is done with all the talk about Kyrie getting a shot and playing. The fact the Nets have allowed him to play in road games after making a firm stance at the beginning of the season has already drawn criticism from Charles and others around the league. Who knows if he will be able to play full-time by the time the season ends, but everyone is definitely tired of speculating what is going to happen.
