Kyrie Irving has a chance at making 50-40-90 club

Kyrie Irving shot three-of-seven from downtown on Saturday against the Bulls. In doing so, he crept closer to cementing himself in yet another NBA record book.

Irving is shooting 50% from the field, 39.7% from three and 92% from the foul line. Players who shoot 50%, 40% and 90% in a single season from those ranges, respectively, are inducted into the vaunted “50-40-90 club,” an exclusive group of NBA scorers who maintain a level of all-time efficiency.

Irving is alongside two members of the group. Kevin Durant held that level of efficiency during his 2012-13 season when he averaged just over 28 points per game. Nets head coach Steve Nash, on the other hand, had four seasons where he qualified for the 50-40-90 club: His 2005-06 MVP season, then every year from 2007-10.

The club only includes six additional players: Indiana’s Malcolm Brogdon, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, and NBA legends Larry Bird, Mark Price, Dirk Nowitzki, as well as WNBA star Elena Della Donne, who also joined the club after the 2018-19 season.

The Nets only have one game left on the schedule, and it’s the second game of a back-to-back against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. The Cavaliers allow the sixth-fewest threes attempted per game (32.5), but teams shoot the three at a 38.1% clip against them, the fifth-highest percentage any team allows.

So how many threes does Irving need to hit to crack the club for the first time in his career?

At least two.

On the season, Irving has tallied 149 makes on 375 attempts. A one-for-one shooting night would put him at 150-for-376 and therefore 39.89%, and no, there’s no rounding up.

Two-for-two, however, would move him a notch above 40% on the year. Two-for-three? Not so much. A three-of-five shooting night from downtown would put Irving at exactly 40% on the year. Irving, though, averages seven attempted threes per game. He would need to make four to crack 40%.

He only made three against the Bulls, which is in part why he finds himself in this predicament now. Had he made four, Irving would be entering Sunday’s game a 50-40-90 club member. There’s one more game left to get it right. It’s a regular-season honor, which means no level of efficiency in the playoffs can retroactively admit him into the club if he doesn’t light it up against the Cavs in the finale.

MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME

The Brooklyn Big 3 just completed their seventh full game as a trio, and it’s unclear whether there will be an eighth given that the season finale comes in the second game of a back-to-back. Nash said the Nets will monitor the developments in the standings and could play the team’s three stars if they need to win to secure their standing as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

“Yeah, we’ll consider it,” he said. “It’s just a matter of how they come through, how they feel in the morning and are they available. But if we need that win tomorrow, we’re not averse to those guys playing tomorrow as well.”

A single-digit sample size, though, is less than ideal for a superstar triumvirate heading into the playoffs. Kevin Durant said it didn’t feel new playing with each other because the stars spend so much time with each other and talking to one another off the floor.

James Harden said the Big 3 participated in a film session a few days ago to help “sharpen things up.” He also pointed to each star’s level of involvement while injured out of the rotation in helping the team fine-tune the details.

“Throughout the course of timeouts, we might share some information that we can pass along on to one of our teammates,” Harden said. “It’s always constant communication, whether it’s between us the coaches there, so we know what the ultimate goal is.”

BIGGER THAN BASKETBALL

Irving did not talk about basketball at all in his post-game press conference after the win over the Bulls. Instead, he used the time to share his perspective on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.

“I don’t really care about (the game) except everyone leaving the game healthy and going home to their families,” he said. “A lot of stuff is going on in this world, and basketball is not the most important thing to me right now. There’s a lot of stuff going on overseas while my people are still in bondage all across the world and there’s a lot of dehumanization of people going on.”

Earlier this season, Irving took a leave of absence in the aftermath of the insurrection at the nation’s capital during the transition of power from Donald Trump to current president Joe Biden.

“Being in this gym, I’m grateful for this opportunity and it’s a blessing, yeah, but my goal, my purpose is to help humanity, and I can’t sit here and not address that,” he continued. “I don’t care which way you stand on either side. If you’re a human being and you support the anti-war effort that’s going on. It’s a lot of people losing their lives, children, a lot of babies, and that’s just what I’m focused on.”