<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/what-the-kevin-durant-injury-news-means-for-kyrie-irving-james-harden-and-nets.jpg"></figure><h1>What the Kevin Durant injury means for Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Nets</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-01-16T11:11:15-08:00">January 16th, 11:11am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-01-16T11:13:08-08:00">January 16th, 11:13am</time><address><a>Dave Early</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On Saturday night, the sports world held its collective breath when Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant suffered an apparent knee injury. Durant, who leads the NBA in points per game and has been very much in the running for his second regular-season MVP, went down midway through the second quarter of a win vs. the New Orleans Pelicans.</p><p>Teammate Bruce Brown fell backwards, and his weight moved Durant’s knee the wrong way a little bit. Durant limped to the locker room on his own, but he was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game with a left knee sprain:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">ICYMI: Here’s the video of Kevin Durant’s knee injury. Hopefully it’s nothing serious. </p><p>(Via Bleacher Report) <a href="https://t.co/aIDZcZEZX8" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/aIDZcZEZX8</a></p><p>— Chris Milholen (@CMilholenSB) <a href="https://twitter.com/CMilholenSB/status/1482527835034206216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 16, 2022</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>The Nets were hopeful that it would be a short-term injury, but understood that there were numerous scenarios on the table heading into an MRI scheduled for Sunday morning that would have monumental implications for the rest of the Nets’ season.</p><p>All things considered, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nets-news-kevin-durant-official-knee-injury-status-revealed/" rel="noopener">they got some pretty great news.</a> Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the two-time NBA Finals MVP suffered an MCL sprain and there’s optimism within the Nets organization that KD could return after the February All-Star break with a recovery window of 4-6 weeks. You’re free to breathe a sigh of relief that it’s not something that requires season-ending surgery:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">The Nets come out of the All-Star break on February 24 and that’s a realistic benchmark for a Durant return, but clearly the organization will err on caution when it comes to a timeline with him. With 11 of next 14 on road, a lot of Kyrie Irving and James Harden together.</p><p>— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1482747892205031428?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 16, 2022</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Nash referred to some “bad luck” that has kept his star trio off the floor together since acquiring Harden last winter. And that was <i>before</i> Durant was injured prior to the Pelicans game.</p><p>“It’s been obviously an incredible coup for us to have James [Harden] in our program. There’s a lot of bad luck so to speak, last year, just the amount of games that we were able to play whole was … a dozen or less, even if you include those games that James played on one leg,” Nash said before the newest injury.</p><p>Nash didn’t mention being one of a couple cities that requires its players be vaccinated, but he could have pointed to some “bad luck” that allows unvaccinated players in other cities to play while his cannot.</p><p><i><b>*Watch NBA games LIVE with <a href="https://www.fubo.tv/lp/nba/?irad=356361&amp;irmp=492408" rel="noopener noreferrer">fuboTV (click for free trial)</a>*</b></i></p><h2><b>What the Kevin Durant injury means for Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Nets</b></h2><p><b>Upcoming schedule with Kyrie Irving just a part-time player</b></p><p>The Nets now have 17 games on the slate before that Feb. 20th All-Star break, which KD may be (tentatively) targeting for return. Irving will be eligible to appear in 11 of those games. Normally a slew of road games would be a daunting prospect for a team missing their best player. But because of the bizarre nature of having a part-time, road-only superstar on the roster, it’s actually a good thing there are relatively few home games during Durant’s recovery window.</p><p>The Nets were a better road team than home team even before Irving’s season debut in Indiana recently. They’re now 12-11 at home and 15-4 on the road. Rival teams (even average ones) might salivate at the idea of coming to play at Barclays Center with just Harden available from their Big Three.</p><p><b>Less load management for Kyrie Irving, James Harden</b></p><p>Of course, the bad news here is that this likely places a much bigger minutes and scoring burden on Irving and even more so on James Harden.</p><p>One benefit to having Irving back was going to be the chance to reduce the workload on both KD and The Beard. But now that may not be in the cards.</p><p>Harden was carrying the load a year ago when he first pulled a hamstring. He never fully shook that issue, and it came back to limit him in the playoffs and required a full offseason to deal with. Right now, Harden is second in the entire league in minutes per game with 36.8. The team was probably looking forward to reducing that number substantially with Irving’s return. Now they may opt to keep pushing the 32 year-old, though that idea feels like a mistake.</p><p>And they also may now push Irving in games he’s eligible to play in, even though they don’t want to do that.</p><p>“We would love for it to be gradual and a strategic allocation of minutes not just like, ‘Alright, great, we got a new Ferrari and we’re gonna wrack up miles,’” the Nets coach explained about his plan for Irving’s return.</p><p>“The No. 1 thing for us right now with Kyrie even ahead of that cohesion is adaptation physically,” said Nash, prior to the Durant injury. “It’s the different rhythm for him not just having a kind of long offseason so to speak, until the last week and a half, but you can’t replicate NBA games. So it’s a process that we have to also be aware of.”</p><p>At least that’s what he said before the Durant news. Who knows if that has changed with the latest update. Clearly, the team was already very hesitant to just throw Kyrie into the fire after a long layoff. But their best-laid plans may continue to be toast here.</p><p>When they decided to reintegrate Irving back in December, they mentioned their continuity plan went out the window. Continuity is still a lost cause. We’ll see how much they decide to lean on their available stars. Unless, of course, they decide they’d rather be a No. 6 seed to increase the odds they’ll have their Big Three in a playoff series.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

What the Kevin Durant injury means for Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Nets

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Steve-Nash-speaks-out-on-harsh-reality-of-Kyrie-Irving_s-situation.jpg"></figure><h1>Steve Nash speaks out on harsh reality of Kyrie Irving’s Nets situation</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-01-15T16:28:31-08:00">January 15th, 4:28pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-01-16T12:33:22-08:00">January 16th, 12:33pm</time><address><a>Dave Early</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Brooklyn Nets recently had a taste of what it’s like to have their Big 3 of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving all available for a recent game versus the Chicago Bulls. That 138-112 victory was their best win of the year so far, allowing them to climb back to third in the East and trail just the Bulls and Miami Heat.</p><p>For what it’s worth, they’re still excited about their new “Ferrari” rejoining the team.</p><p>Head coach Steve Nash recently said he wanted to be cautious with Kyrie’s return to play and not just grind him with 40 minutes per game.</p><p>“We would love for it to be gradual and a strategic allocation of minutes not just like, ‘Alright, great, we got a new Ferrari and we’re gonna wrack up miles,'” the Nets coach explained.</p><p>There was a bit of confusion this past week. First a report suggested the Nets might be able to deploy Irving as a full-time player by paying fines to New York City. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nets-news-scenario-with-brooklyn-paying-fines-so-kyrie-irving-can-play-at-home-gets-crucial-update/" rel="noopener">Next that idea was shot down in a follow up report.</a> So for the time being, Irving is back to being a part-time player for the rest of the season and playoffs.</p><p>After that recent win against the Bulls, the second time we got to see the Big 3 active in a game this season, Kyrie got honest on his routine in watching games. He also shared a fantasy he might have if he wasn’t such a high-profile superstar.</p><p>“If you only understood how many people support the Nets from my hometown and also from where I’m from it’s a lot so sometimes it can be a little overwhelming, I can’t really go out and watch at a local bar or anything like that. I would love to just be ‘man ok K [he calls his friend Kevin Durant ‘K’] shoot a shot, let’s [mimes drinking shots]. Nah I’m joking. But just having fun watching it and sometimes I gotta watch it alone and sometimes I get to watch with my family, so it’s just a balance,” said Irving as he let his guard down a bit after a big win.</p><p>So the <a href="http://fanatics.93n6tx.net/vnZ3LN" rel="noopener">Nets</a> will look to acclimate Irving back from a long layoff. But there is not a lot of time to communicate with him when he’s not with the team.</p><p>Before the Nets’ Saturday night game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Nash was asked how often he speaks to Irving during game days when he’s not around the Nets.</p><p>“Not a lot to be honest,” <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidEarly/status/1482491094105481220" rel="noopener">admitted</a> Steve Nash. “I’ve got my hands full trying to communicate with the guys that are playing tonight and with my staff so I really don’t get to communicate with him much ’cause we’re just so inundated with tasks on a game day, with the game that night, with the players, coaching staff, performance, analytics, video, so it’s not straight forward where I get the chance to give him a call everyday.”</p><p>Kyrie Irving still does have access to everything he needs in terms of film work, however.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"Not a lot to be honest, I've got my hands full trying to communicate with the guys that are playing tonight and with my staff so I really don't get to communicate with him much…."</p><p>-Steve Nash on how often he connects with Kyrie Irving on games he is not eligible to appear in.</p><p>— DaveEarly (@DavidEarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidEarly/status/1482491094105481220?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 15, 2022</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>“Yeah, he has access to all our stuff,” the Nets tactician furthered. “So he has full resources and ability to stay locked in. The number one thing for us right now with Kyrie even ahead of that cohesion is adaptation physically. It’s the different rhythm for him not just having a kind of long offseason so to speak, until the last week and a half but you can’t replicate NBA games. So it’s a process that we have to also be aware of.”</p><p>Nash also discussed how it might be a challenge for Irving to play so infrequently. Keep in mind, Kyrie–in his 11th year–has gotten used to playing every day or two as part of the NBA grind. But as a part-time player, there are sometimes long stretches between contests for him.</p><p>“He’s still adapting to demands, also adapting to a new cadence,” Nash shared. “What did he do, he played one week, played a week later and then couple days later. So it’s different, it’s something that we have to give him time to adapt to and to get to his best.”</p><p>We may not expect Irving to be back in game shape with his own rhythm yet, but he certainly doesn’t seem to have lost much confidence. There may not be a ton of time to talk during the marathon season, but the more games Kyrie gets under his belt the better the <a href="http://foco.vegb.net/15GNdB" rel="noopener">Nets</a> will start to look.</p><p>Like coach Nash says, it’s about physical adaptation and cadence.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Steve Nash speaks out on harsh reality of Kyrie Irving’s Nets situation

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Steve-Nash-drops-brutal-Kyrie-Irving-update-amid-return-rumors-1.jpg"></figure><h1>Is Kyrie Irving playing vs Pelicans</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-01-15T05:55:30-08:00">January 15th, 5:55am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-01-15T05:56:51-08:00">January 15th, 5:56am</time><address><a>Dave Early</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New Orleans Pelicans are set to face the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on Saturday night. The Nets have been without star Kyrie Irving all season for home games as he is ineligible to play in New York City. As an unvaccinated player, he can’t perform in venues like NBA arenas in New York. But there were just enough rumors this week to lead us to ask: is Kyrie Irving playing vs Pelicans?</p><h2><b>Is Kyrie Irving playing vs Pelicans</b></h2><p>After missing the first couple months of the season, Irving was originally reinstated with the Nets back in mid December. But as soon as he turned up to the facility, he tested positive for COVID. In fact, Kevin Durant and James Harden tested positive around the same time.</p><p>Once Irving cleared health and safety protocols, the seven-time All-Star had his debut of the season in a road win vs. the Indiana Pacers. Irving recorded 22 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals in his first game back.</p><p>“I’ve had a lot of debuts but nothing comes close to this one,” admitted an emotional Irving after the win. “It just meant a little bit more. Just because at this stage, you know taking off 8 months…. so I went in just an open mindset just to ground myself, be present, and do whatever it takes to win.”</p><p>The Duke product next played in the second of a back-to-back for the Nets in Portland where the team lost. Irving tweaked his ankle a little bit on this play by Blazers’ forward Nassir Little, diving for a loose ball:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">I would never hurt someone on purpose, I have the utmost respect for Kyrie! But y’all are delusional if you think this is a bad play, and id do it again. Idgaf what y’all talkin about <a href="https://t.co/kcChvvupG4" target="_blank">https://t.co/kcChvvupG4</a></p><p>— Nassir Little (@2ez_nassie) <a href="https://twitter.com/2ez_nassie/status/1480908596615413762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 11, 2022</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>But the injury wasn’t enough to keep Kyrie out of the lineup in a big win vs. the Chicago Bulls last week. That was around the time Stefan Bondy of <i>The New York Daily News </i>reported there might be a <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/nets/ny-nets-kyrie-vaccine-20220112-vhw3aptgzffwphs6jvqzjtbuce-story.html" rel="noopener">loophole where the Nets could let Irving play as a full-time player, while paying fines to the city of New York.</a></p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Should the Nets decide to let Kyrie Irving play at home, the team is subject to monetary fines of up to $5,000 for fifth and infinity more offenses, as stated on the Penalties for noncompliance with The Key to NYC, as outlined in Bill de Blasio’s executive order. <a href="https://t.co/sNBSoNXu9y" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/sNBSoNXu9y</a></p><p>— Nets Nation (@NetsNationCP) <a href="https://twitter.com/NetsNationCP/status/1481504564667121665?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 13, 2022</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>After that report came out, ESPN Insider, Adrian Wojnarowski added that there was “real optimism within the organization” that Irving might get to play full-time despite remaining unvaccinated.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Woj says there’s “real optimism within the organization” that Kyrie Irving will become a full-time player at some point this season. <a href="https://t.co/xpAR42Bke6" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/xpAR42Bke6</a></p><p>— Anthony Puccio (@APOOCH) <a href="https://twitter.com/APOOCH/status/1481522654238724104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 13, 2022</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>After the big win over the Bulls, James Harden even joked he would personally administer the vaccine for his teammate, if that’s what it took to get Kyrie out there for home games.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Is James Harden still holding out hope that Kyrie Irving can play at Barclays Center?</p><p>"I'm gonna give him the shot" <a href="https://t.co/1tupopQFpT" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/1tupopQFpT</a></p><p>— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) <a href="https://twitter.com/SNYNets/status/1481509313919451137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 13, 2022</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>But then the scenario where <a href="https://twitter.com/SNYNets/status/1481509313919451137?s=20" rel="noopener">Irving could return while the Nets paid fines got a crucial update.</a></p><p>Per Wojnarowski, the NBA states that “teams must follow local laws and players who don’t comply won’t be able to play.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">To be clear on the hypothetical ability for a team to pay a fine for an unvaccinated player to play in a marketplace that local ordinances forbid: NBA memo to organizations on September 1 says that teams must follow local laws and players who don't comply won't be able to play.</p><p>— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1481674583899918340?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 13, 2022</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>So even though the situation is in many ways fluid, with updates changing by the day, the question is answered for now. Is Kyrie Irving playing vs. Pelicans? No. He is healthy, but still ineligible or Nets’ home games.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Is Kyrie Irving playing vs Pelicans

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Nets-Kevin-Durant-James-Harden-Kyrie-Irving-.jpeg"></figure><h1>James Harden opens up about ‘whirlwind’ schedule, playing without Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-01-14T05:21:55-08:00">January 14th, 5:21am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-01-14T05:23:16-08:00">January 14th, 5:23am</time><address><a>Dave Early</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Brooklyn Nets have had a really crammed schedule lately. Kyrie Irving returned for the Pacers game, his first of the season back on Jan. 5th. That almost seems like months ago listening to the Nets talk in the post-game. They’ve played six games in 9 evenings, including an overtime win over the Spurs at Barclays Center last weekend, then a back-to-back cross-country in Portland, then the big three blowout over Chicago, and finally a shorthanded “load management” Thursday vs. the Thunder. Kevin Durant and Patty Mills got to rest up for the last one. Irving was of course ineligible to play. That left James Harden to try to lift a team who could all use a nice two-day nap.</p><p>“Tired. Exhausted,” admitted Harden after the 130-109 loss to the Thunder. “Today was definitely a little frustrating ’cause we wanted to win and played so well last night so we wanted to kinda have some kind of carry over but it just did’t happen. You know we got in pretty early [from Chicago] I should say 5 in the morning, I didn’t even get to bed ’til 7:30 (AM) … so it was crazy,” admitted a clearly tired Harden.</p><p>“Whirlwind. I would describe it as a whirlwind,” said Harden about the jam packed schedule with his teammates and himself in and out of the lineup. “It’s something new every single day.”</p><p>Harden had 26 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals on what was clearly more of a morning catnap than a good night’s rest. His effort wasn’t nearly enough. The L.A. native was just 7 of 22 from the floor, and 3 of 11 from distance, but salvaged his night by draining 9 of 9 from the line. Without Joe Harris (still no time table for his return from ankle surgery), without Irving, Mills, and Durant, you can imagine how the spacing looked out there. The Thunder did a nice job packing the paint and forcing the Nets into tough shots.</p><p>“It’s definitely something that I’ve never done before,” said Day’Ron Sharpe about all the back and forth traveling that the COVID rescheduling caused. The former Tar Heel cracked twenty minutes or more the last three games. He had his career high in the team’s best win of the season when he dropped 20 points in just 22 minutes vs. DeMar DeRozan and the Bulls.</p><p>One ancillary benefit to the wild schedule is the Nets have gotten the chance to rest some players, and also provide some crucial developmental minutes for their young core. These opportunities could pay dividends down the road. With the Feb. 10th NBA Trade Deadline, it’s also possible rival teams might pick up the phone to place an offer for a promising young player like a David Duke Jr. Kessler Edwards, Day’Ron Sharpe, or Cam Thomas.</p><p>There is no indication the Nets are looking to trade those guys, but there was a rumor from Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer that perhaps Jevon Carter could be on the move.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">From <a href="https://twitter.com/JakeLFischer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@JakeLFischer</a>: “The Nets are said to be exploring trade options for reserve point guard Jevon Carter. Brooklyn has $6.7 million and $11.5 million trade exceptions to play with.”</p><p>— Alec Sturm (@Alec_Sturm) <a href="https://twitter.com/Alec_Sturm/status/1481658351704494085?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 13, 2022</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p><a href="https://twitter.com/Alec_Sturm/status/1481658351704494085?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1481658351704494085%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fclutchpoints.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D1611659action%3Dedit" rel="noopener">For now, players</a> like Sharpe just seem happy to get the chance to pick up some minutes. Sharpe knows that the COVID monkey wrench thrown into the schedule is part of why he’s been able to find so much burn lately. And he loves it.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"Portland, six hour flight, play there, travel to Chicago….get back 5 in the morning. Got a game today so. But I told you man, they told me I get to play. You know I could travel all day if I get to play."</p><p>Day'Ron Sharpe doesn't mind the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nets?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">#Nets</a> crazy schedule one bit. <a href="https://t.co/LlwiSdD9Z2" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/LlwiSdD9Z2</a></p><p>— DaveEarly (@DavidEarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidEarly/status/1481845669765783558?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 14, 2022</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>“We had a game against San Antonio, travel to Portland, six hour flight, play there, travel to Chicago. Then play Chicago, get back 5 in the morning. Got a game today so. Something I ain’t never done before. But I told you man, they told me I get to play. You know I could travel all day if I get to play,” laughed Sharpe.</p><p>Recently, head coach Steve Nash talked about the Nets glaring home road splits. After dropping the tough one to the Thunder at The Clays, Brooklyn is now 11-11 at home and 15-4 on the road.</p><p>“Well I imagine it’s more difficult to prepare for us on the road when we have [Kyrie],” admitted Nash.  “I mean he’s obviously an electric player who is capable of so many things on the court and adding him to our group makes everyone better. So I think of it as a bigger challenge for teams when they have to face us with Kyrie.”</p><p>“Ideal, we would love to have yesterday’s [vs. Chicago] team every single game….” said Harden. He even joked about personally <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nets-news-james-harden-hilarious-6-word-response-to-kyrie-irving-vaccine-dilemma/" rel="noopener">giving the vaccine to Irving to try to get a full-time big three. </a></p><p>Sometimes the Nets feel like the old Charlie Brown gag with the football. Every time you think you might get the big three of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden in the lineup, something else happens. But all this team seems worried about right now is catching some well-earned shut eye.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

James Harden opens up about ‘whirlwind’ schedule, playing without Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Nets-James-Harden-Kevin-Durant-Kyrie-Irving.jpg"></figure><h1>James Harden’s cocky three-word hype on trio with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-01-13T20:41:32-08:00">January 13th, 8:41pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-01-13T20:43:34-08:00">January 13th, 8:43pm</time><address><a>Paolo Mariano</a>Paolo is a freelance writer, TV producer, and news editor based in Manila, Philippines.  He will debate anyone to death that Penny Hardaway is the real GOAT, and he will work for pizza.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The return of Kyrie Irving feels like a shot in the arm for the Brooklyn Nets. The trio of Irving, Kevin Durant, and James Harden is probably the most talented in the NBA and the Nets’ campaign should only get better as the season progresses.</p><p>While Irving can only suit up in select games on the road, it’s obvious that the Nets will be tough to beat when the Big Three is complete. Case in point: Their 138-112 victory over the Chicago Bulls, a team lording it over in the Eastern Conference. When asked about their convincing win, Harden offered a bold three-word remark (via <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33055291/brooklyn-nets-confident-blowout-east-leading-chicago-bulls-good">ESPN</a>).</p><blockquote>“We’re that good.”</blockquote><p>Harden was, of course, pertaining to his troika with Durant and Irving. We don’t need to list down their accolades to show <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/brooklyn-nets/records">how good they are</a>. Still, since banding together on the Nets, they haven’t played a ton of games together due to injuries and other Irving-related matters.</p><p>Harden admitted that things could be better for the Nets’ three-headed assault.</p><blockquote>“We got a chance to be that good. We just haven’t had enough of it. I think last year we probably had 15 games maybe together, a little more, a little less. And this year only two. We haven’t had a real bulk of a season. Y’all can consistently see how great we can be. And we’re working on that. We need to get to that point.”</blockquote><p>The Nets were the overwhelming favorites to win the title heading into the season, but the entire Irving saga threw a wrench on their campaign. But with that settled and Durant and Harden playing at a high level, it’s abundantly clear that they got their eyes on the prize.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

James Harden’s cocky three-word hype on trio with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving

Stephen Curry

Kevin Durant

Russell Westbrook

James Harden

Kyrie Irving

Chris Paul

Carmelo Anthony

Paul George

Damian Lillard

Giannis Antetokounmpo

3x All-NBA

7x All Star

2016 NBA Champ

2011-12 ROY

2013-14 AS MVP

2011-12 All-Rookie

2x All-NBA

2015-16 NBA Champ

6x All Star

Cleveland Cavaliers

Boston Celtics

Brooklyn Nets

3 seasons

Career

1 season

https://twitter.com/KyrieIrving/status/1482352136931401729/

https://twitter.com/KyrieIrving/status/1479153548868866054/

All praise to God

I am not alone and I am grateful to Know that

https://twitter.com/KyrieIrving/status/1463539096580542466/

https://twitter.com/KyrieIrving/status/1462797370463297544/

https://twitter.com/KyrieIrving/status/1462797220323934219/

https://twitter.com/KyrieIrving/status/1462548775008829443/

https://twitter.com/KyrieIrving/status/1462548697019867141/

https://twitter.com/KyrieIrving/status/1462548497584963590/

2021-22 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
17.7	5.0	3.7	0.7	1.3

2021-22 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
17.7	5.0	3.7	0.7	1.3

Kyrie
Irving

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