There were times this didn't feel very likely. There were times it felt like a trade might offer Kevin Durant and James Harden more help in 2022 and beyond than Kyrie Irving could. But the New Jersey native is now finally set to make his season debut this week, with the seven-time All-Star expected to be in the lineup for Wednesday's game when the Brooklyn Nets visit the Indiana Pacers.

Irving returning to the lineup, even as a part-time player, adds another superstar to the mix. Of course, there are also questions that come along with his return to the Nets.

Let's explore the biggest questions ahead of Kyrie's 2021-22 season debut.

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3 burning questions for Kyrie Irving's season debut

3) What will James Harden's role be with Kyrie back in the fray?

James Harden had a slow start to this year, in part because of a summer's worth of “inactivity,” said head coach Steve Nash, referring to his hamstring rehab. But Harden has been on a tear since returning from health and safety protocols, playing some of his best ball of the season. Why?

“I think it's a combination of things. Let's be fair, he has trended in a positive direction throughout the season,” said Nash.

“I think ironically him being out with health and safety gave him some rest, a reset, and he came out of it exceeding expectations but seemed a little more explosive and had more pop,” offered the second-year head coach before the last game.

Irving being back in the fold should allow Harden to play fewer total minutes but higher quality minutes. The 32-year-old ranks seventh overall in minutes per game with 36.7.

Expect him to receive a couple extra rest games in the new year and play less on average when he's in the lineup.

It will also be curious to see what role Harden has in the half-court offense. Last season, Irving told Harden “you're the point guard.” Nash has suggested on numerous occasions he doesn't care if Harden is shooting or passing as long as he's attacking the paint relentlessly, because he trusts Harden's decision-making. But will he play as much of a pure point guard role as he has? Harden is leading the NBA in assists per game with 9.9 (now tied with Chris Paul). Will that rate continue?

Finally, we'll see if the Nets rely less on Harden's creation and playmaking with Kyrie back. Of course, some nights teams will have to put their best defender on Kevin Durant and their second-best defender on one of Harden or Irving. Most teams don't have three great perimeter defenders, so it could be barbecue chicken for The Beard. Stay tuned to see if he plays more off the ball and more shooting guard moving forward.

2) How will Patty Mills be deployed?

When Joe Harris went down with an ankle injury in mid-November, the team became even more reliant on Patty Mills to provide a spark.

Mills fouled out in the most recent game, a disappointing loss to the depleted Los Angeles Clippers. The team struggled without him.

“When [Mills] went out, [what the Clippers] kept screaming was, ‘Now they’ve only got two shooters out there,’” said Durant after the 120-116 loss. “That’s what they kept saying, so we knew double teams were coming. They were gonna just forget about their defensive scheme and just bring two at James and myself for the last six minutes of the game.”

Apparently having a third shooter out there is vital for these Nets. In the prior two losses, Mills shot just 3-of-22 from distance, falling short against the Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers. Over the holiday, the Aussie star was blistering hot, draining 14-of-26 in two wins at Crypto.com Arena over the Lakers and Clippers.

But with Irving returning shortly, several things will get easier. For one, Mills will be less likely to foul out now. And two, the Nets can make sure that they have three shooters out on the floor more often. When Joe Harris returns as well, they may profile as the top shooting team in the league.

It will be intriguing to see how Nash staggers Mills' minutes. Does he play alongside the superstars? Or will he be first man off the bench to replace one of them, ensuring there are always at least three snipers platooned on the perimeter? Will he be staggered with Irving or play alongside Kyrie a lot? Which player combos Nash opts to experiment with will be fascinating to see.

1) How will Kyrie Irving look?

Most reports out of Nets practice say that Kyrie looks a lot like … well, Kyrie.

“He looks great, considering,” Nash said ahead of the team’s New Year’s Day home game. “You know he was in isolation for however many days, 10-plus days. … So for him to come out of that and to look as good as he has playing with the stay-ready group and getting his rhythm back has been exciting.”

But Nash tempered expectations, just so that we don't expect Kyrie to make up for lost time and drop 50 in his first game back.

“But I don’t want it to diminish the transition,” continued Nash. “It’s still different from playing informal kind of stay-ready group games rather than playing NBA games with schemes and sets, and adapting to everything, you know refereeing, opposition, different opposition, all that stuff. So we have to give him time to really get his feet under him, but as far as how he looks, he looks very, very gifted.”

Little would surprise us here. Kyrie might have some nervous jitters and go cold. He might have trouble with his wind or conditioning. After the game if he struggles, they could call it a tuneup game. But then again, he might look like he never left and drop 30. It's hard to envision a scenario where anything is truly shocking.

“I think he’s on his way, it’s getting close. We just gotta make sure that we don’t make a hasty decision, but it’s coming,” Nash added.

The conservative estimate would be that he'll play around 28 minutes and score around 18 points. But then again, this is Kyrie Irving and conservative isn't a word we're inclined to use much regarding him.