The Brooklyn Nets will be without both of their superstar signees from the summer on Saturday. Kevin Durant being sidelined isn’t a new development, but this is the first regular season game Kyrie Irving will sit out at a member of the Nets.
Irving has been dealing with a right shoulder impingement. He was first ruled questionable against the Nuggets on Thursday, but wound up playing. Irving was once again ruled questionable after the loss in Denver and has officially been ruled out against the Chicago Bulls by the team.
Although it’s not ideal for the Nets to play a game without their best player — especially while in the middle of a three-game losing streak — Brooklyn should still be able to take care of business against the 4-8 Bulls. Even though the Nets’ record isn’t much better (4-7), Chicago is much more prone to make mistakes, being such a young team.
But, if Brooklyn drops this game — even without Irving — Kenny Atkinson and his staff need to reexamine a few things.