Brooklyn Nets: It’s refreshing to watch Kyrie Irving’s game do the talking

It’s been quite some time since Kyrie Irving was recognized for his basketball greatness. That’s all the Brooklyn Nets could hope for.

Since he asked out of Cleveland in the summer of 2017, how much of Kyrie Irving’s presence in the media cycle has been related to his play on the basketball court?

This question isn’t meant to criticize the choices Irving has made when opening his mouth to the media or making the decision not to. As much as the general public may find confusion and humor in some of the comments he’s made about leadership and the definition of a coach, Kyrie speaks with a level of authenticity most fans claim to want out of players.

And yet, that genuineness gets him talked about for every reason besides the one that originally gifted meaning to his voice — though that was at times a worthy sacrifice, like when he faced being called a disrupter and a distraction upon speaking up for those with concerns about the NBA’s bubble plan that coincided with social justice movements around the country (he was right).

Some of that outcome is a self-inflicted choice of words, even when the message was well-intentioned and at times accurate. He singled out his young Celtics teammates for not knowing what it was like to function as a championship-level team — isn’t that what he was for? Last January, he professed that the Brooklyn Nets’ needs for legitimate title contention were glaring.

But by suffering a consistent string of injuries in the last three years, missing the 2018 playoffs entirely and playing just 20 games in his first run in Brooklyn, Irving’s perception was swallowed in a barrage of everything outside the lines because of how relatively inconsistent the glimpses of mastery between them were. Which is a damn shame considering how bright the star has shined not too long ago for a 28-year-old with plenty left in the tank.

The mesmerizing handles and under-the-rim finishes. A deadly outside shot that can be unleashed from any spot on the court. Of all the players who can put together some varying package of the skills that make Irving an offensive juggernaut, even fewer have done it as he has on the biggest stage.

Ahead of his second season with the Nets, Kyrie had everything he could need to set the stage for a return to those dominant ways.

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1346625340873928704

An extended lay-off that began with the final game of his 2019-20 season on Feb. 1 ensured his body was as fresh as it could be. The superstar teammate he came to Brooklyn with and was ready to do damage alongside was ready to make his debut after sitting out his entire first season in Brooklyn. A new head coach was implemented as his request — allegedly.

So far, Kyrie has put all those tools to good use. The six-time All-Star is seventh in the league in scoring at 27.1 points to go along with 6.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. His shooting line is a ridiculous showing of efficiency at .504/.426/.100. In the absence of Kevin Durant due to COVID-19 protocols, Irving carried Brooklyn to a 34-point win over Utah by dropping 29 points in just 29 minutes.

Those returns have come across a minuscule sample size of seven games. The full verdict of Irving’s season won’t be determined for months on a team contending for a title. But we don’t need a conclusion to simply take joy in the return of a journey that was more than half the fun with a player as must-see-TV as Irving is.

He’s hit a go-ahead shot in Game 7 of the NBA Finals with multiple 40-point games in the championship round and more than a handful of 30-point outings across several playoff runs as well. Countless times have Irving’s cold-blooded heroics come through for his team in both the regular and postseason.

These memorable moments leave the mind so quickly because the orchestrator wasn’t building off them in the ways so many predicted. Kyrie wasn’t pushing for All-NBA First Team nods or flirting with MVP consideration as one former teammate believed he could. He’s been fending off so much else in recent years to even try — again, some inherently self-inflicted with other sound bites exacerbated by his absence on the court.

That has not been the case to start the new season. A fresh start won’t put him in the MVP conversation, but it’s enough to bring a return to the Kyrie Irving that first drew our attention through this past decade.