Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers will be the fifth game Kyrie Irving will be suspended. The Brooklyn Nets initially announced that they were going to suspend their All-Star point guard for a minimum of five games, which means that he could be back on the court as early as Monday against the Los Angeles Lakers. That is, of course, under the assumption that he has been able to satisfy the Nets' list of requirements for his reinstatement.
It is worth noting, though, that the Nets went 2-6 in their first eight games with Irving in the mix. In the four games he's missed, however, Brooklyn has gone 3-1.
This significant development has now drawn an interesting comment from former NBA player turned ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins. According to Big Perk, the Nets are just a better team without Kyrie:
Article Continues Below“So I guess I’m the only person that see that the Nets has been playing free and with great Joy over their last 4 games. Don’t mind tho and Carry the hell on… Btw I love KD when he plays that Point Forward position!” Perkins wrote in his tweet.
It is worth noting that Perkins has a long history with Kevin Durant. These two former Oklahoma City Thunder teammates have gone back and forth on social media on more than one occasion, and there's no denying that they are anything but best friends. Nevertheless, Perk still heaped praise on KD and the way he's taken over Irving's role as the Nets' primary playmaker.
Kyrie's return seems inevitable, and it will be interesting to see how this will impact Brooklyn's recent team dynamics.