Kyrie eligible for season debut Wednesday
Unvaccinated guard Kyrie Irving will first be eligible to make his Nets season debut as a part-time participant on Wednesday at Indiana.
Coach Steve Nash wouldn’t commit to that date for the road-only Irving’s return to game action, but he said the seven-time All-Star “looks great, considering” and his comeback is “getting close.”
Irving, who still is not permitted to play games in Brooklyn (or at Madison Square Garden) due to New York City’s COVID-19 regulations, rejoined the Nets in practice last week following a half-season of inaction and a December stint in the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
“He was in isolation for however many days, 10-plus days, I think. For him to come out of that and look as good as he has playing with the stay ready group and getting his rhythm back has been exciting,” Nash said of Irving before the Nets lost to the Clippers, 120-116, on Saturday. “We have to give him time to really get his feet under him but as far as how he looks, he looks very gifted.”
Asked if it’s now a matter of Irving telling the coaching and training staffs that he believes he’s ready, Nash said: “I think he’s on his way. It’s getting close. We’ve just got to make sure we don’t make a hasty decision, but it’s coming.”
Irving attended Seton Hall’s loss to Villanova on Saturday at Prudential Center in Newark, sitting masked in the front row along the sideline. If Irving doesn’t dress against the Pacers, the next road game in which he will be eligible to participate will be Jan. 12 in Chicago. ➤ Clippers coach Tyronn Lue was the third opposing head coach in four games to miss his team’s game against the Nets due to health and safety protocols, following the Lakers’ Frank Vogel and the 76ers’ Doc Rivers.
“Coaching’s very overrated,” Nash joked. “It’s not the biggest deal. I think in this league you play so many games and the regular season is so different from the playoffs that sometimes it can give a team a bump.
They hear a new voice for a night or two, whatever it is, and it’s a little bit of a break, a change, and then get back to normalcy. I’m not sure that it always makes that big of a deal.” ➤ Nic Claxton was not in the starting lineup against the Clippers after starting each of the Nets’ previous three games. He scored 13 points in 23 minutes off the bench. Bruce Brown joined Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge in the starting frontcourt.