In the home game against the Hornets, Irving made his home debut of the season, but in this game he played very crotch, playing one of the worst performances of the season. In this game, Irving started 41 minutes, 6 of 22 shots, 1 of 9 three-pointers only got 16 points, 2 rebounds and 11 assists, personal plus-minus of -15, in the final quarter, Irving had consecutive three-point shots, but he did not grasp it. In the three-goal matchup with the Hornets' main point guard, Irving was also in a complete defeat, Irving had a rare slump in this campaign, and the Nets lost the game.
After the loss, the Nets' rankings also slipped, and they are currently overtaken by the Hornets, who have fallen to 9th in the East. The Nets are currently only 1.5 wins ahead of the 10th-place Hawks in the East, and the team's playoff spot this season is not stable, although in the next game, the Nets have the simplest schedule in the league, but if the team continues to play such a performance, then the Nets may lose more games, and the team ranking is likely to decline again.
After the game, Irving, who had a very bad performance, also expressed his feelings about his home debut this season after the game, Irving said that it was very happy to be able to play at home, I didn't want to put too much pressure on myself, I just wanted to focus my attention on basketball.
Speaking about the team's performance in this campaign, Irving also said that this is not our most real level, but we can definitely sum up a lot from this game and then get better. It's frustrating that none of the things I want to do in this game are done well, and I'm responsible for that.
The Nets lost in this game, which is indeed Irving's responsibility, he played too badly on the court, after making his home debut, he wanted to express himself, in the game he had many shots that were not reasonable, in the key moments, he could not seize the opportunity, shooting efficiency is not high. On the defensive end, he couldn't limit the three-goal play and let him play a very shining performance, and this game Irving really needed to bear the responsibility of losing.
However, the downturn of a game is very normal, on the whole, Irving has played very well this season, he has had a lot of highlights on the field, when he appears in the game, the team's winning rate is higher, and the overall offensive ability of the team is stronger. For the current Nets, they can't do without Irving, who is the key player for the team to impact the playoffs.
After losing this game, the Nets have seven games left this season to face the Pistons, Bucks, Hawks, Rockets, Knicks, Cavaliers and Pacers, with the away to the Hawks being the Nets' most critical game of the season, as they are currently very close to the Hawks, with the two teams being direct competitors in the playoffs. For the Nets, the team needs to beat the Hawks on the road so their rankings will be more stable, and for the Nets to win, Irving needs to show something. After pulling a crotch, whether Irving can bottom out and rebound and have a better performance in the next game is worth looking forward to.