Unvaccinated Kyrie Irving makes Nets season debut on road against Pacers
Unvaccinated Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving got into the paint and swished one of his soft mid-range jumpers for his first two points on the 2021-22 season.
Later in the game, Irving used his clever dribble to snake through defenders and use the backboard for layup.
In his season debut, Irving had 22 points on 9-for-17 shooting, four assists and three rebounds in Brooklyn’s 129-121 victory against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.
Irving, who is not vaccinated against COVID-19, can only play in road games because a New York City mandate requires proof of vaccination to enter arenas. At the beginning of the season, the Nets said they didn’t want Irving to be part-time player and that he wouldn’t play or practice until he was fully vaccinated.
But injuries and COVID-19 decimated the Nets roster, and they needed players. They made the decision to allow Irving to play part-time.
With Irving, the Nets get an elite seven-time All-Star guard back in the lineup alongside Kevin Durant and James Harden. Irving is a proficient 3-point shooter, excellent shot-creator in the paint and effective mid-range scorer and makes the Nets a better team.
He showed some of that against the Pacers, helping the Nets overcome a 19-point deficit late in the third quarter and end a three-game losing streak. He had 14 of his points in the second half — 10 in the fourth quarter as the Nets pulled away for the victory, and the Nets were 18 points better than the Pacers with Irving in the game.
Durant had 39 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and Harden had 18 points, six assists and five rebounds. Brooklyn’s Big 3 will be formidable in the games Irving can play.
Irving played 32 minutes, which is about what Nets coach Steve Nash planned, and also showed signs of a player who hadn’t played in nearly seven months. He registered five minutes, 11 seconds in his first stint, missing his first two shots — one was blocked — with an assist and a turnover before checking out.
But overall, it was a successful debut — Irving played well and the Nets won with Irving’s dad, Drederick, sitting courtside.
Nash isn’t worried about Irving assimilating on a part-time basis.
“It might take a little bit, but Kyrie knows what he’s doing,” Nash told reporters. “He’s been with us and he also can adapt to situations and so we haven’t had a ton of time to really give him the tutorials, but that’s something that we are happy to do on the fly as well. But more importantly, try to feel a sense of cohesion with his teammates, get comfortable playing the game, before we overload him with a ton of thoughts. I think he’ll be fine.”
Since Irving can only play in road games (except New York’s Madison Square Garden and Toronto), he is eligible to play in eight games this month but will miss key home games against the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets.
Brooklyn also has a road-heavy schedule to start February with six of its first games in the month on the road.
Follow Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt.