A WILL AND AWAY
The Nets have issues to fix after back-to-back losses, but one is out of their control: Kyrie Irving’s availability.
The star point guard will miss a fourth straight game for personal reasons Tuesday against the Nuggets and coach Steve Nash was mum on Monday when asked for an update on Irving’s status.
“I do not have any updates, sorry,” Nash said after practice.
The Nets had initially listed Irving as questionable for Sunday’s game, but he was eventually ruled out for the 129-116 loss to the Thunder. Monday, they ruled him out for Tuesday’s game.
Nash said he believes Irving got tested for COVID-19 on Sunday, but was not sure whether he was tested again on Monday. Whenever Irving does return to the team, Nash said he was unsure of whether he would face a quarantine through the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
A source told The Post’s Brian Lewis that Irving’s absence is related to Wednesday’s riot at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Trump. He has missed all three games since, with the Nets going 1-2 without him.
While Irving’s status remains a mystery, he did break his silence on Instagram on Monday to wish his dad Drederick a happy birthday.
The Nets, meanwhile, got Kevin Durant back on Sunday from his COVID-19-related quarantine, but are still being stretched thin especially at point guard. After the position seemed to be overflowing with depth coming into the season, Spencer Dinwiddie underwent ACL reconstruction surgery last Tuesday while Irving and Tyler Johnson (health and safety protocols) have missed the last three games, leaving the Nets shorthanded behind Caris LeVert.
“It is a challenge when we are missing guys,” Nash said. “Spencer’s loss moved everyone up the line one. The amount of load, and the amount of load is really important when you’re playing more than a game every other day. So, that affects us. Mentally, physically, depth-wise, injury risk, but also talent-wise. Guys are having to share more responsibility than they are accustomed to, and then Ky being out adds to that, so guys are going two spots up the line, and getting more load and more responsibility ... but no one is going to cry for us.”
In seven games this season, Irving has averaged 27.1 points, 6.1 assists and 5.3 rebounds. LeVert has taken on a bigger role in his absence and played well, but the Nets have still struggled to adjust without Irving.
In Sunday’s loss to the Thunder, Nash tried Landry Shamet as the backup point guard behind LeVert. But Shamet continued his early-season struggles, shooting 1-for-5 from the field and committing a pair of turnovers with one steal in 15 minutes.
“I know this isn’t me,” said Shamet, a career 41.4 percent shooter who is shooting 31.4 percent through 11 games. “When [stuff ] gets tough, just bite down on the mouthpiece, put my hard hat on and go to work.”
While Shamet is still trying to find his role on the fly, he’s not alone.
The team that entered the season with championship aspirations has had plenty of moving parts early after an expedited preseason, with injuries and absences leading to six different starting lineups through the Nets’ 5-6 start.
“It’s been really difficult,” Joe Harris said. “Our whole thing is we just are trying to spend as much time as we can together particularly on the court but we don’t have a lot of practice time. These games that we have been having, we haven’t had a lot of continuity. As soon as you start to get there something happens and you might be down a guy whether it’s injury, COVID protocol, whatever it might be. So it’s been a difficult transition up to this point.”