NBA Notes: Nets, Kyrie Irving, Warriors, Heat

Nets

Point guard Kyrie Irving said the Nets will have to make sure to avoid having a reputation of being a talented team that lacks grit.

“Yeah, the low-hanging fruit that we could honestly all agree on is sometimes in possessions we’re not playing hard enough,” Irving said. “You saw it against Miami (in the preseason) the other night. They were really physical, and we don’t want that to be our stigma or M.O. in the league.”

“The most physical teams usually win ballgames, especially down the stretch. So we’ve got to be tougher. Like Markieff (Morris) said, we’ve got to be comfortable with being uncomfortable at times. We’re going to mess up things, but we don’t want it to carry over to the next possession. That’s what our message) has been in practice — on to the next play. Regardless what the ref’s doing (or) our opponent is doing, we want to focus on us.”

Warriors

Coach Steve Kerr said he’s not surprised guard Jordan Poole was able to brush off the Draymond Green drama and score 25 points in a preseason game vs. the Lakers.

“There’s a reason Jordan is who he is right now,” Kerr said, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “Especially considering where he was coming out of Michigan, a late first-round pick, struggling his first few months in the league. There’s a reason he’s in this position, about to sign a big extension, hopefully. He’s just tough. He’s mentally tough and physically tough and ultra confident in his game.”

• In case you missed it, there’s been talk lately that Green may want to sign on with the Lakers after the season. We have more right here.

Heat

Duncan Robinson implied he’s ready for a bounce-back season after losing his starting job in 2021-22.

“Just based off of how last year went — lots to learn from, lots to grow from,” he said, via Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “So just to be very discerning over what it is I want to take with me, what I want to take from the experience and how I can actually be resourceful and use it to better myself, better the team, better myself as a player.”

• Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said has been impressed with small forward Haywood Highsmith, a camp invite. “I don’t view him as a young player,” Spoelstra said, via Nekias Duncan of Basketball News. “I understand he doesn’t have an extensive NBA experience — but he’s played some very good basketball in the G League. He has had to grind and earn everything and every opportunity that he’s been given. He just continues to get better each year.”