The Brooklyn Nets were without star guard Kyrie Irving on Thursday night, and his absence will be extended. Irving sat outside the Nets’ win over the Philadelphia 76ers for personal reasons and did not join the team on their flight to Memphis, a team spokesman said. The Nets play the Grizzlies on Friday night.
Before the game against the Sixers, Nets head coach Steve Nash said he did not know why Irving was sitting. Nash said he reaches out to Irving but does not hear back and repeats the post game that it is a private matter. Caris LeVert added that Irving sent the team an SMS to inform them of his decision, saying that it was a personal matter but that no further information had been disclosed.
At this point, Irving’s rationale for eviction is unknown, and it would be unwise to speculate further. If Irving wants to share his reasoning, he will. After a short drive to Memphis, the Nets will return to Brooklyn Sunday for home games against the Thunder and Tuesday the Nuggets. It is unclear when he will return to the series again.
The Nets are also currently without their other star, Kevin Durant, after being exposed to COVID-19 and having to be quarantined for seven days. Durant, who had COVID-19 last year, tested negative throughout the process. If that trend continues, Nash expects to be back in court on Sunday.
When he was on the field this season, Irving was fantastic, with 27.1 points, 6.1 assists and 5.3 rebounds, while making an early push for the club 50/40/90. He shoots 50.4 percent from the field, 42.6 percent from the 3-point land and 100 percent from the free-throw line.