NO KD TILL B’KLYN
Durant misses Clippers tilt on Coast, but should return when Nets host Sixers
Kevin Durant did not clear the COVID-19 health and safety protocols in time for either the Nets’ Christmas Night showdown against the Lakers or Monday’s matchup against the shorthanded Clippers.
Coach Steve Nash, however, suggested Durant, who tested positive for COVID-19 and entered protocols on Dec. 18, should be available for the Nets’ matchup against the 76ers on Thursday.
“I think there’s a good chance Kevin will be (available),” Nash said. “He’s already been in for eight days or more, so he should be. I’m not exactly sure of how many days right now, but he’s got to be getting close.”
The same is not expected of Kyrie Irving, the star guard set to make his season debut in the new calendar year after the Nets ruled him ineligible at the beginning of the season.
Irving is unvaccinated and thus banned from playing at Barclays
Center (or Madison Square Garden) due to New York City’s vaccine mandate. The Nets had also banned Irving both from playing on the road in markets without such a mandate and from practicing with his teammates at the beginning of the season, but walked that decision back after more than half the roster entered protocols in December.
The Nets are not rushing Irving back after he missed so much time on the floor. They are going to ramp-up his conditioning first, as he has not had access to the team’s training facilities and has not been able to get up and down on a basketball court against elite talent.
Irving also tested positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 18 and has yet to clear protocols.
“It’s hard to say, but I would say probably somewhere between a week and two weeks,” Nash said about Irving’s timeline. “He’s isolating, so that kinda puts another layer to the ramp-up. It’s not like he’s been working out. I’d imagine it’s going to be closer to two weeks once he comes out of protocols. We’ll see how it goes, though because we have to evaluate him from a physical and performance standpoint, and then a basketball standpoint as well.”
Irving and the Nets can ill-afford another positive diagnosis. From a health standpoint, Irving’s status as unvaccinated puts him at a higher risk of health complications due to COVID-19. From a planning standpoint, another positive test result likely means another 10 days in protocols, unless he can register negative results on two consecutive days.
Irving is not included in the new guidance handed down from both the Centers for Disease Control and the NBA: The CDC reduced the isolation period for vaccinated federal healthcare workers from 10 days to five. The NBA followed suit and reduced the isolation period for vaccinated players to six days.
Nets starting center LaMarcus Aldridge also continues to remain in protocols despite clearing his 10-day mandate days ago.
“I don’t even know what the latest technicality is, but I know he’s not joining us today,” Nash said Monday. “He should be ready to rejoin the group when we get back.”
10-DAY INSURANCE
The Nets have re-signed veteran guard Langston Galloway to a second 10-day contract. That leaves decisions to be made on veteran forward James Ennis, veteran guard Shaquille Harrison, and stretch-four Wenyen Gabriel.
“I think we’ll definitely consider re-signing them just because everything’s so in flux right now,” Nash said. “So we’ll see. I think we might not keep them all, but there’s a good chance we keep two or three I would say. Maybe all four just because we don’t know when guys are coming in and out.”
NO. 1 MOMENT
Nic Claxton called his Christmas Day poster dunk over LeBron James the best moment of his three-year career.
“That’s definitely No. 1,” he said on Monday. “Definitely the most memorable moment of my career. It was lit. It just happened.
“James (Harden) having that trust to even throw that pass like that, it says a lot about the way he feels about me. I went out and made it happen, so my confidence is definitely growing. I’m looking forward to just continuing to do what I’m doing and the sky’s the limit.”