‘We Belong Together’: Despite Loss, Nets’ Kevin Durant Excited About Partnership with James Harden and Kyrie Irving

The Brooklyn Nets stole all the headlines after they successfully traded for James Harden. This created a Big 3 for them, which includes Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving. During his first two games for the Nets, Irving was missing, but tonight was their first appearance together as a trio.

But the Cleveland Cavaliers played spoilsport on their celebrated debut as they beat the Nets 147-135. The trio did well, with Durant and Irving scoring 30+ while Harden had a triple-double. But Colin Sexton’s heroics prevented them from winning and ruined the occasion.

Despite the loss, Durant was still happy about the union of this Big 3. During the post-game interview, he said, “It felt right. It felt perfect. It felt like we belong together; like this journey together is going to be fun. Tough first start, it was an up and down game for us but I like where we are.”

Can Kevin Durant and the Nets Big 3 show up in their upcoming games?

The Nets were on a four-game winning streak prior to this game. They won in those games without Irving, and also didn’t have Harden for two of those games. But tonight they couldn’t stop the Cavs from scoring, and they walked all over them.

One of the shortcomings of the Harden trade was the depth and the defense they lost with the departures of Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince. Their big man rotation now consists of Jeff Green, DeAndre Jordan, rookie Reggie Perry, and KD as well. Durant had to play 50 minutes because of this tonight. Allen was arguably their best defender, and his loss will hurt them later.

Tonight, Sexton scored on their entire defense, no matter who was guarding him. Harden is an average defender, while Irving is worse. Both of them may have piled on the points, but neither of them could come close to stopping him.

The Nets have one of the best, if not the best offense in the league, but they need to work on their defense now. They will be tested once again against the Cavs on Friday, before they play back-to-back games against the Heat. This could be the start of a championship run for them but they will have to work harder in practice.

ALSO READ – ‘Lit $114 Million on Fire’: Twitter Erupts After Cavaliers’ Collin Sexton Ruins Nets’ Big 3 Debut