We are nearing the end of 2021 and we still have not seen Kyrie Irving take the floor for the Brooklyn Nets this season. Irving was just about to end his hiatus from his team and the sport due to vaccine mandates in New York. However, before Irving could even take the court, he was forced into the league’s health and safety protocols.
Irving should be making his way out of the protocols relatively soon and the Nets have faired pretty well in his absence. They currently have a record of 23-11 and sit as the second seed in the Eastern Conference, ranked only behind the Chicago Bulls.
The other members of the Brooklyn Nets have stepped up in Kyrie Irving’s absence from the team
The other two stars, James Harden and Kevin Durant have really stepped up for the Nets while Irving has been away from the team. Durant has put up MVP caliber numbers so far this season averaging 29.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game.
Comparatively, Harden has been putting up incredible numbers as a second option. He is currently averaging 22.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per game.
With the two other members of the big three playing at such a high level already this season, the rest of the league should be scared of what the Nets offense may end up looking like when Kyrie finally joins the team for good this season.
Can the Brooklyn Nets win an NBA championship if Kyrie Irving can play in, at most, half of the team’s playoff games?
However, even when he is back for good, the Nets will still run into a very large problem with Kyrie during the playoffs. That problem is that he will be forced to miss so many games through the playoffs.
Irving will be unable to participate in any home games, which already means he will only be eligible to play at most 50 percent of the Nets playoff games. Along with this, if the Nets are matched up against a team like the Toronto Raptors or New York Knicks in the playoffs, who also require players to be vaccinated, Irving will be forced to sit out the entire series.
This is something that could end up becoming dire for the Nets’ playoff chances, especially if they run into some injury troubles during the postseason. It will be very interesting to see how Irving and the Nets will maneuver this situation.
While they will likely be able to get past teams like the Raptors and Knicks with ease even without Irving, if they play a team like the Clippers, Warriors, or Lakers in the NBA Finals, they may be in real trouble without Irving able to participate in any games.
