Kevin Durant has been sensational for the Brooklyn Nets this season as he has guided the franchise to a excellent 27-13 record despite a shabby start to the season. However now with his MCL injury, Durant will be sidelined for a considerable amount of time. So it falls on Kyrie Irving to lead this team and keep the momentum and morale high despite their talisman’s injury.
Former NBA Champion, Kendrick Perkins feels that it is a golden opportunity for Kyrie Irving to stand up as a leader in a time of need. Over the years people have mostly seen Irving as the second choice whether it be at Cavaliers or at the Brooklyn Nets,. But Perkins believe that this is an opportunity for the guard to prove that he can be the first choice for any team if given the opportunity.
“I’m gonna be looking at Kyrie Irving. I feel like this is a golden opportunity for Kyrie Irving to prove to the world that he can be a number one option team, that could lead a team into victories. When you think about him, and you think about his skillset, we know he’s a walking bucket, we know he’s one of the most skilled guys to ever play the game of basketball. But I wanna see him get others involved,” Perk said.
Perkins feels that Kyrie should prove that he can be a leader to this team in Durant’s absence as he has a contract extension coming up in the upcoming season so he will be motivated to perform. Perk wants Kyrie to take junior players under his wing just like Durant does to motivate the youngsters.
“Kyrie is up for a contract this upcoming season. I wanna see, can he be that leader? Can he be that voice? We saw Kevin Durant start to be that voice, start to take [Nic] Claxton under his wing, and start to be a second voice to Jacque Vaughn. Can Kyrie Irving be that number one guy while Kevin Durant is out?”
Durant suffered a very unfortunate injury following his collison with Heat forward Jimmy Butler. The Heat star was going down after his shot got blocked and while he went down he caught Durant’s knee and that resulted in his MCL injury as he grabbed his knee in pain and was sidelined immediately.
Irving stood up to the task with Durant out injured and led the Nets to a win against the Heat. He led the team with 29 points and six assists at an occasion when the limelight was on him. Just like that Perkins wants him to take up the leadership role and motivate this team to keep going.
The Nets are currently second in the Eastern Conference only behind leaders Boston Celtics. Incidentally Kyrie Irving’s first test as a stand alone leader for the Nets will be against his former team, Celtics in their next match and it will be an exciting battle between two top teams from the East.
