The NBA regular season is coming to a close and teammates are making strong efforts to give one final push in order to keep their playoff hopes alive. Among such teammates are surprisingly the Brooklyn Nets who were at the top of the Eastern Conference charts before entering the new year. The once favorites are now competing in the play-ins to move further ahead.
But the Brooklyn Nets have much lower chances of making it through because of Kyrie Irving. As we all know the New York City State mandate requires sports players to be vaccinated in order to take part in competitive games at New York’s arenas. Irving had initially missed four months of play on the refusal of getting the vaccine. Despite being allowed to participate with his team, the player is still not given the green light to play in home games.
Kyrie Irving is given a fifty-fifty chance of playoff participation with the Brooklyn Nets
Based on the requests of the sports league, New York City’s mayor Eric Adams addresses the masses on his plans to lighten the restrictions. He said that the sports team will have to wait until the rules get lifted. Among these teams are the Nets, Knicks, Yankees, and Mets. So far, Irving has been the only player who has suffered the drawbacks of the mandate.
“Right now, we’re going to take some complaints. But when this is all said and done, people are going to realize this is a thoughtful administration and we got it right. So baseball, basketball, businesses, and of those things, they have to wait until that layer comes,” said Adams as per ESPN. “We’re going to do it the right way. We’re going to follow the science, we’re going to make the right decision. And in New York, no matter what you do, this is 8.8 million people and 30 million opinions, so you’re never going to satisfy New Yorkers, so you must go with the logic, your heart, and the science.”
Jalen Rose says the Nets will not win the title without Kyrie Irving
The Nets currently are left 10 games to close out the season, out of which Irving is only eligible to compete in two. Brooklyn has not been consistent in winning home and road games. Chances reveal that the Nets may slip down to the 10th seed if they continue this pattern of consistency during the eight games Irving cannot play. And if even they do play well enough, they will have to face the Raptors in Toronto who also require players to be fully vaccinated.
Jalen Rose commented on the situation revolving around the availability of Irving. He said, “If you want to play the sport just like your teammates, you can actually get vaccinated. The other solution is, your team, you’re the Nets, just won’t meet its goals. You do have Kevin Durant, but he is not going to be enough to win the Eastern Conference with a partial Kyrie Irving.” Irving has been putting up 27.7 points with 4.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists on 49% shooting. He is a huge offensive threat on the Nets besides Durant which they will surely require in the playoffs against teams like the Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, and Philadelphia 76ers.
