Kyrie Irving defiant but admits Nets 'look very average'
The Brooklyn Nets are struggling for consistency, but Kyrie Irving insists the team will come back firing in the NBA when the star-studded assembly clicks.
Kyrie Irving accepts the Brooklyn Nets "look very average" but insisted the rest of the NBA will be on notice when the team finally starts to click.
The Nets have assembled a star-studded cast with James Harden arriving last month to form an exciting 'Big 3' alongside Irving and Kevin Durant.
But since Harden's heralded arrival, the Nets have gone 7-6. Tuesday's disappointing 122-111 loss to the Detroit Pistons was their third in a row and they have a 14-12 record for the season, comfortably behind Eastern Conference rivals the Philadelphia 76ers (18-7) and the Milwaukee Bucks (16-8).
Defense has been a particular concern for the inconsistent Nets, a fact highlighted by the Pistons shooting 56 per cent from the field and 44.8 per cent from the beyond the arc.
Irving knows the Nets, who were without Durant against the Pistons, are not living up to expectations but remains confident they will get it right as the season progresses.
Irving: "We're the team that is literally battling against so many odds"
"I don't think that we go out every single day and sacrifice the time to be average at anything," Irving told reporters.
"We look very average, we have the talent that the eye test presents that we should be dominating. We have the experience in terms of some of our guys have been some through certain things, circumstances to be able to battle through.
"We're the team that is literally battling against so many odds that at this point it's not even a reason to continue to comment on. They are what they are.
"As a warrior that I am and the energy I have alongside my team-mates, we just have to turn that corner. We haven't done it yet but we will and I'm telling you the league is going to be on notice when that happens. We just have to take it by day by day."
The Nets have lost four of their past five outings, with three of those setbacks coming against teams who have losing records.
Irving acknowledges the Nets need to address the perception the team is not playing hard enough.
"I don't accept that, and I don't think our team accepts it as a whole, obviously we don't want that to be what teams think of us," he added.
"We're seeing it day in, day out where guys and teams are coming out and punching us in the mouth early and we're playing catch up.
"It happens to be against the guys with the least good records. We gotta call it for what it is, we gotta fix that. It takes maturity, accountability and a realisation of what we need to do moving forward."
Irving missed the previous loss to the Philadelphia 76ers due to an injury to his right index finger – an issue that is still troubling him.
"It sucks man," he said. "It's uncomfortable but at the same time I don't want to make excuses.
"I'm out there, I do a lot of treatment on it, we're down a few players obviously as well. You just want to go out there and compete and worry about the pain later. I'm doing the best I can."