Boston Celtics superstar Kyrie Irving played through a minor shoulder injury on Thursday, as his team suffered a 101-93 defeat at the hands of the Denver Nuggets. The 27-year-old point guard did look a bit worse for wear, going 8-of-20 from the field against the Nuggets en route to an inefficient 17-point performance. He really struggled down the stretch as the Nets blew another big lead.
Prior to the defeat, Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson was asked to comment about his star's lingering shoulder problem. As it turns out, the coach did not seem too concerned with what appears to be nothing more than a minor issue:
Asked Kenny Atkinson if he thought Kyrie Irving’s shoulder issue was going to be ongoing and going to need long-term management. He said he didn’t think so. #Nets
— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) November 15, 2019
Brooklyn has been off to a slow start this season, losing seven out of its first 11 games of the new campaign. The same, however, cannot be said about Irving, who has been putting up huge numbers despite the Nets' slow start. In 11 starts, the former NBA champ is averaging career-high marks with 28.5 points (on 44.4 percent shooting), 5.4 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per contest.
As noted by Atkinson himself, Kyrie's current shoulder injury is not going to be a concern moving forward, so we don't expect the six-time All-Star to miss any time because of the same. The fact that Brooklyn is currently on a three-game losing streak will probably serve as more motivation for the Nets to keep their prized point guard on the court.
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