Irving and his NBA season debut

With some gray hair, but with the same energy and without fading, Kyrie Irving’s expected debut this season with the Brooklyn Nets finally happened and last Wednesday in the game against Indiana Pacers the All-Star point guard stepped on a court for the first time since June last year.

Irving was ineligible (so to speak) to play due to his decision not to get the COVD-19 vaccine against New York’s mandates.

That mandate allows Irving to practice but not play at Barclays Center, while Canadian law (home of the Toronto Raptors) requires all visitors entering the country to be vaccinated. In San Francisco, anyone over the age of 12 must show proof of full vaccination before entering any mass event, including Golden State Warriors NBA games at the Chase Center, but the law does not apply to visiting team members.

For that reason, Kyrie missed the first 35 games of the current Association season; however, the point guard stumbled into some “luck” and the conditions that have turned the league upside down on the Omicron variant gave him the opportunity to get his way: Play despite his refusal to vaccinate.

In mid-December, the Nets announced that Irving would rejoin the team as what the franchise called a “part-time player” for the team’s games outside of The Big Apple and Toronto.

On Wednesday afternoon/evening, all eyes were on the former Boston Celtics and he didn’t disappoint….

Despite showing a lack of rhythm during the first half, he finished the night with 22 points (10 in the final quarter), three boards and four assists. Most importantly, his on-court participation was key for coach Steve Nash’s team to end a three-game losing streak (Philadelphia 76ers, LA Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies) and improve its record to 24-12 (.667), reaffirming its position in second place in the Eastern Conference.

But beyond the individual numbers, what was Kyrie Irving’s not entirely quantifiable contribution on the court during the 32 minutes he played?

• He lit the fuse for the Nets to come back from a 19-point deficit and end up winning 121-129, as in addition to his 22 units, Irving helped his teammates make 16 more baskets spread between Kevin Durant, James Harden, Caxton, Duke Jr, Aldridge, Bembry, Mills Johnson.
• He was able to reunite with KD and The Beard to form one of the most potent ‘Big Three’ in the league and give a small taste of the range Brooklyn can have with them together. For the record. Between the 3 of them, they scored or assisted on 58 of the team’s 69 points in the second half (84%).
• The emotional aspect and motivation for the rest of his teammates because of what having Irving on the court represents. The point guard is a leader and is the gear that makes Nash’s machine work.
• His presence on the court forces opponents to have one more concern in addition to the one generated by KD and Harden.
• It provides quicker transition to offense and more and better ball control.

Going back to the numbers that account for the great contribution of Brooklyn’s ’11’, Irving, Durant and Harden averaged 73.5 points in their first 15 games together. The third most for a trio of teammates in their first 15 games in the last 50 seasons (including playoffs).

The only trios with more points during that number of games are Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Clint Capela (Los Angeles Lakers), and Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson (Warriors).

Likewise, Irving, Durant and Harden rank 14th all-time behind the aforementioned trios, i.e., with the most units in their first 15 games.

Irving can still play in 22 games on the Nets’ remaining schedule and that includes 7 more in January (Portland Trail Blazers, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington Wizards, San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves and Warriors) 7 in February (Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets, Wizards, Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks), 6 in March (Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, Memphis Grizzlies and Miami Heat) and one in April (Atlanta Hawks), making the Bulls’ current first-place finish in the East (25-10; . 714) is in serious jeopardy.