Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving Open Up About First Play-In Tournament Together

KEY POINTS

The Brooklyn Nets will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the play-in tournament this season
Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are both excited about their first play-in game
The dynamic duo is setting everything aside and will rely on the team's best attributes

The Brooklyn Nets will have a healthy Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving this postseason.

On Sunday, April 10, the Nets secured the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference with a massive 134-126 season-closer win over the Indiana Pacers.

The team will be back in action on Tuesday, April 12, for the play-in tournament match against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Nets finished the past season as the second-best team in the East, and this will be Irving and Durant’s maiden play-in experience.

Surprisingly, Brooklyn’s dynamic duo is not feeling much pressure heading into the huge game. Instead, the pair is already thrilled about it.

"I think somebody's in the backroom hip hip hooraying whoever created the play-in tournament," Irving told ESPN. "Because last year you get Steph [Curry] and LeBron [James] [who played in the play-in], this year you get me and KD [Durant] going against the Cavs in the play-in game. And then you have in the Western Conference, Minnesota and the Clippers. So I guess somebody's in the back room saying this works."

"As a competitor, it feels like one of those Game 6s, Game 5s, Game 7s, where it's a must-win and you know that the ball's going to be tipped and it's not really going to depend on anything other than will, skill, how well you're prepared, physicality, how well you know the other team's offensive schemes,” he continued.

"You just don't know what can happen in games like that -- you just got to prepare for anything that can happen and really come in with a fearless attitude going against another great team. So I'm looking forward to it."

Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets looks on against the Charlotte Hornets at Barclays Center on March 27, 2022 in New York City. Mike Stobe/Getty Images

It can be recalled that Irving’s postseason was cut short due to an injury.

Durant, on the other hand, suffered a mid-season injury earlier this year that saw the Nets losing a number of important games.

Now that both of them are at 100%, Durant is focused on playing “some good basketball.”

"It depends on how the games are," Durant said of the play-in. "The format and the playoffs, all that stuff don't really matter.”

“It's about the product on the court and players on the floor,” he pointed out. “And I'm sure it will be some good basketball out there with the talent we have in this league."