Charles Barkley slams Brooklyn Nets’ failures before humiliating 153-121 loss to Sacramento Kings
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‘This is a wasted four years’: Charles Barkley berates Brooklyn Nets for their failures since Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving arrived before humiliating a 153-121 loss in Sacramento
- The Brooklyn Nets were destroyed on national television by the Kings Tuesday
- Sacramento continued their strong form, winning seven of their previous nine
- The 153 Sacramento points are the most ever allowed in Brooklyn Nets history
- It follows Charles Barkley’s claim that the past four years in BK have been a ‘waste’
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The Brooklyn Nets were obliterated 153-121 by the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night in an extremely embarrassing performance.
Brooklyn appeared to have stabilized with four wins in six under new coach Jacque Vaughan, but they faltered with back-to-back losses in California.
Kevin Durant scored 27 points to lead his team, but the Nets had no answers defensively against Sacramento. The 153 points allowed were the most ever in a regulation game in Nets history.
Things haven’t gone well for Kevin Durant and his company since moving to Brooklyn
The game in Sacramento was highly anticipated and the Kings got a rare opportunity to play on national television. They made the most of their opportunity with a dominant performance fueled by the 27-4 run in the second quarter.
Brooklyn’s latest loss did nothing to silence criticism of the franchise. Pregame Charles Barkley was candid in his disappointment with what has happened since Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant went into free service in 2019.
Since then they have had James Harden and more recently Ben Simmons as the third piece in an undeniably talented big three.
Ben Simmons came off the bench and scored 11 points, five rebounds and three assists
Although, there is little to no success.
“I love basketball so much,” Barkley began Within the NBA.
“This team has been together for four years. And when they went there four years ago, [it was] really like oh they are going to win some championships.
“They’re not even close yet and it’s almost over. I mean, because obviously there’s going to be some wholesale changes at the end of this year.
Former NBA MVP Charles Barkley was critical of the Nets’ lack of success in previous seasons
‘But man, if you have a good team, you have to take advantage of it, you can’t mess around. This is a wasted four years for these guys.”
A mix of long-term injuries, COVID-19 mandates, lack of continuity, and general poor play has plagued Brooklyn’s previous seasons.
Since Durant and Irving arrived in what appeared to be a power shift in the East, the Nets’ best finish was a seven-game Conference Semifinals loss to the Bucks in 2020-21.
Kyrie Irving is a huge miss for the Nets team as he continues to serve a franchise-enforced suspension
Last season, Brooklyn was swept by the Celtics in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Despite the season’s infancy and Irving’s absence, the playoffs would be a luxury.
The Nets have a disappointing 6-9 record and sit 12th in the conference, but the East’s inconsistency means they sit just two games outside of a guaranteed playoff spot.
As for Irving, who could desperately use Brooklyn on the field, his immediate playing future is no clearer.
Brooklyn coach Jacques Vaughan has received a reality check on the Nets’ trip to the West Coast
Vaughn said before the game he had no update on when the star guard would return from a team-imposed suspension because he declined saying he had no anti-Semitic beliefs.
Irving was suspended for a minimum of five games and has now missed seven. Vaughn said GM Sean Marks is in “constant communication” with the NBA and owner Joe Tsai.
“He tells me when he has an update, he’ll let me know,” Vaughn said.
The Nets superstar was suspended for a minimum of five games on November 3, but has missed seven