On April 26, Beijing time, the Nets lost 112-116 against the Celtics, and after this game, the Nets were swept out in the first round of the series, which was undoubtedly the most disappointing result for the Nets with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
In the whole game, even if Kevin Durant can get 39 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds in the 47 minutes of playing, and Irving has 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists on 6-of-13 shooting in 45 minutes, this is still not enough to lead the Nets to win this life-and-death battle.
After this game, everything about the Nets has become a hot topic of discussion among fans. Some media outlets have listed Irving's playoff performance after making a trade request to the Cavaliers in 2017 and leaving LeBron James:
2018: Injured
2019: Second round 1-4 loss to bucks
2020: Injured
2021: Injured (Nets lose to Bucks in the second round)
2022: The Nets are swept by the Celtics
Some media have also listed that after the departure of James Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have only been able to play a 9-10 record for the Nets so far (47.4% win rate):
In fact, many fans believe that Harden's departure is largely caused by Irving's refusal to be vaccinated, and simply put, the Nets' failure this season is basically Irving's problem. So in the next offseason, where Irving, who can become an unrestricted free agent, has also become a hot topic of discussion among fans, and some media have also raised this question:
"Will Kyrie Irving choose to retire or will the Nets give him a $200 million contract?"
For the Nets, giving Irving a big contract does not seem to be an ideal choice, after all, Irving's operations in the past few years have proved that he is not a "focused" player, compared to giving Irving a 1-2 year contract is the best choice.
There are also fans who list multiple excuses for the Nets that led to the failure of the season:
"COVID-19, injuries, vaccine licensing, Irving part-time, Nash's coaching level, Harden, Ben Simmons failed to play."
In fact, the above can be said to be the reason for the Nets' failure this season, but now that the season is over, the Nets should start focusing on this offseason and looking for opportunities to improve the lineup.