{"id":224172,"date":"2021-04-11T06:38:26","date_gmt":"2021-04-11T03:38:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/nets-ripped-by-depleted-lakers-as-kyrie-irving-gets-ejected\/"},"modified":"2021-04-11T06:38:26","modified_gmt":"2021-04-11T03:38:26","slug":"nets-ripped-by-depleted-lakers-as-kyrie-irving-gets-ejected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/nets-ripped-by-depleted-lakers-as-kyrie-irving-gets-ejected\/","title":{"rendered":"#Nets ripped by depleted Lakers as Kyrie Irving gets ejected"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Nets ripped by depleted Lakers as Kyrie Irving gets ejected<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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Many viewed Saturday night\u2019s Nets-Lakers clash as a preview of the NBA Finals. But this had no resemblance to championship basketball.<\/p>\n

When the teams tipped off, there were already three superstars missing. A fourth sidelined himself when Kyrie Irving got ejected early in the third quarter. And by the time it was over, what was left of the defending champion Lakers beat what was left of the Nets, 126-101, before 1,773 disapp<\/a>ointed fans at Barclays Center.<\/p>\n

League officiating has come under scrutiny at times this season, and it will be again after Irving and Lakers point guard Dennis Schroder both were ejected, for the first time in a combined 18 NBA campaigns, over what seemed to be nothing more than typical on-court jawing at each other.<\/p>\n

Kevin Durant led the Nets with 22 points, and the ejected Irving scored 18 in 21 minutes. But that wasn\u2019t the sole reason the Nets (36-17) lost this one. They didn\u2019t need any help from the officials to do that. For the root cause of this defeat, they need only look in the mirror.<\/p>\n

\"Kyrie
Kyrie Irving and Dennis Schroder are separated by teammates during a heated exchange in the Nets\u2019 126-101 loss to the Lakers.<\/figcaption>
EPA<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Nets were playing without MVP candidate James Harden, out with a strained hamstring. But they were facing a Lakers team that was missing not only superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but also Kyle Kuzma and Marc Gasol.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t matter: buyout signee Andre Drummond was enough for the Lakers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would be a terrific challenge for us [facing them healthy],\u201d Nets coach Steve Nash said. \u201cObviously, adding Andre gives them size and an excellent center, but at the same time, I think the reason the Lakers were the champions last year is because AD\u2019s the best small-ball center and LeBron\u2019s the best small-ball four, at least in the playoff run last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it just gives them options and depth and another facet. If they want to go big, they have another guy that can do a lot of things at the center position. Pick your poison. They\u2019d be very formidable with the smaller version of their frontcourt or the big one.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was much lamentation from small-market general<\/a> managers when the Nets hit the buyout market to land big men LaMarcus Aldridge and Blake Griffin. But Griffin finished with just two points, while Aldridge got bullied for much of the night by Drummond (20 points, 11 rebounds).<\/p>\n

So physically dominant was Drummond that Nash tried to avoid even using springy-but-spindly young Nic Claxton on him. And while the occasion seemed to call for DeAndre Jordan, the 6-foot-11, 265-pounder remained out of the rotation and on the bench for the fifth straight game<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Nets allowed 50.5 percent shooting \u2014 19-for-34 from 3-point range \u2014 and eight Lakers scored in double figures, including Schroder, who had 19 in barely 20 minutes.<\/p>\n

The Nets were largely outplayed from the start, falling behind 11-2 after a Schroder 3-pointer with 9:33 left in the first quarter.<\/p>\n