Nets carrying a chip on their shoulder in light of recent events

Without Kyrie Irving or Kevin Durant, there are reasons to doubt the Brooklyn Nets. But the Nets who are healthy want to prove otherwise.

Kenny Atkinson can feel it. He knows the group he’s working with right now isn’t keen on the idea of giving up on 2019-20 even though Kyrie Irving is done of the year and they’re not going to see Kevin Durant at any point this season, either.

The Brooklyn Nets tried to show they’re not to be taken lightly when they played the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday, but the Nets couldn’t hold on. The frustration from that loss carried into Saturday’s game against the Hornets and helped lead to the Nets’ most lopsided road win since 2012-13.

“Tonight, we came out and we were looking to kill,” Jarrett Allen told YES Network. “So then that’s what we did and we stepped on their throats.”

Now, Atkinson is convinced the Nets players want to pull off something special. If that’s going to happen, the Nets can’t stop at Saturday’s win.

Based on Garrett Temple’s comments to reporters in Charlotte after the win, the Nets have no intention of slowing down.

“For more reasons than one, we had a chip on our shoulder,” he said. “The way we played that Philly game, we felt like we let one get away. We know being on the road and the race that we’re in right now, we gotta win games like this. So we came out with it on our mind. And for the rest of the season, we have to have that same mentality, whether it be a chip on our shoulder or just an extra level of focus, attention to detail.”