Kyrie Irving is finally returning to the court after missing the first two months of the 2021/22 NBA season. The All-Star point guard refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine, forcing the Brooklyn Nets to ban him from any basketball activity until he took the shot.
Well, Irving got his wish granted and now the Nets will allow him to play road games, giving them a big boost for the remainder of the season. Brooklyn was already having a good season, ranking 1st in the Eastern Conference standings, even with James Harden’s struggles.
Now with Kyrie back, The Beard will have a clearer picture of his role on the team, and that only means danger for the rest of the league. Kevin Durant is excited to have Kyrie back and recently talked about the expectations for the Nets now that the 2016 NBA champion is back.
“With us getting ravaged by COVID and us being down so many bodies, it felt like the perfect time to add a fresh body back into the equation. Somebody that can bring so much to the floor. We just needed it.”
“Adding Kyrie to the equation just makes us so much better as a team. He was down, we were down, it was pretty simple, to be honest, we need more bodies, bring Kyrie on,” Durant said of Irving’s return during a recent episode of his podcast “The ETCs”.
“We wish this would’ve happened way earlier, But there was a lot that was going on with the start of the season.”
KD on Kyrie:
“Adding Kyrie to the equation just makes us so much better as a team. He was down, we were down. It was pretty simple to be honest.”
Adding, “We wished this would’ve happened way earlier… just felt like it was the right thing to do.”https://t.co/dl0IWTk2fi https://t.co/HQ1FpPcOww
— Billy Reinhardt (@BillyReinhardt) December 29, 2021
Kyrie is indeed a terrific addition to the Nets, even if he plays only in road games. He was just great last season, taking over when Durant and Harden had off nights. That’s the biggest advantage of having a trio of superstars; it’s nearly impossible that all three have a bad game at the same time.
The Nets are considered championship favorites, and with Kyrie back, their case is even better for the 2022 NBA title. Irving dropped a tentative date for his return, and we could see him back on the court next week when the Nets visit the Pacers.
