MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Kyrie Irving is still feeling out his teammates. Coach Kenny Atkinson is still getting accustomed to his new-look team — along with the new expectations that come with it.
How long it takes for the lessons to sink in from all these teaching moments will determine if the Nets (1-1) meet those expectations.
“I’m trying to personally establish relationships with the new guys, and quite honestly figuring them out off the court and on the court,” said Atkinson, whose Nets face the Grizzlies and Rookie of the Year candidate Ja Morant on Sunday. “We need time to build that relationship.
“You say, ‘Well, haven’t you been watching DeAndre Jordan or Kyrie for a long time?’ It’s just different when they’re in your house and your system and you’re just trying to really figure it out. We’re still in the figuring-out stage. I know we’ve got to move quick. I know this thing goes quick, so we’re trying.”
When the Nets added free agents Irving, Jordan and Kevin Durant this summer, they went from being gritty overachievers praised for finishing sixth in the East to a team expected to contend in the Eastern Conference. But that’s just on paper. Reality is a different beast altogether.
Durant’s ruptured Achilles tendon may sideline him all season. The Nets are facing the same early hangover that plagues every team that treks to China for the preseason. And with 10 of their 17 players newcomers, they’re going to go through an inevitable feeling-out period.
As the Nets try to figure out how to play alongside each other, they’ll also have to learn how to play under the weight of expectations. With the exception of Irving and Jordan — who have 118 playoff games between them — that will be a new experience for most of them.
“That’s just where we are when we have the caliber of players coming in,” Irving said. “Then obviously the expectations that are put on the team, it’s just a difference in terms of where they were a few years of being solid, making the playoffs in the eighth seed, and now we have this caliber of players.
“There are just a lot of teaching moments for us to really take ourselves to the next level. As individuals we’re pretty good, but as a team we just have to stay patient with one another, just build it step-by-step. There’s no rush, 80 games left. So just take them one at a time, don’t get too high or too low and just really enjoy playing with your brothers out there.”
The feeling-out process isn’t limited to the players.
With the Nets trailing the Knicks by two with a half-minute left Friday, Atkinson debated internally whether to call a timeout as Irving came up the court. In the end, he let it ride with his creative new star, and Irving hit a go-ahead 3 with 22.4 seconds left.
“Well, this is learning who he is,” Atkinson said. “And when he’s coming down on the right side, I’m thinking, ‘Do I call a timeout or not?’ It’s like, ‘Wait a second, if I call a timeout, they can sub, they can double-team him.’ You just let him get in a flow and make a play. That’s where the coach has to step back and let your best player make plays.”
Irving made the plays, backing up Wednesday’s 50-point debut with a 26-point, five-assist outing. With the Nets down 109-106, he hit a pull-up jumper, then the eventual winner over rookie RJ Barrett’s long arms.
“That’s the tale of the game. If I’m not shooting it down the stretch them I’m not living up to what I work every day to be able to accomplish, and that’s to come down the stretch, make good plays,” Irving said. “For my number to be called to really put an impact on the game down the stretch then you’ve got to shoot them.”