Wednesday marks two weeks since Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving made his belated 2021-22 debut. Ineligible to play in home games because of New York City's vaccine mandate, Irving rejoined the Nets as a part-time player after they initially opted against using him in the road games he is able to play.
Because Brooklyn has played as many home games as road games since Irving debuted Jan. 5 against the Indiana Pacers, he has seen action in just four games. Still, that has given us an early idea of what to expect from the Nets' unusual experiment.
After just two games with their three All-Stars together, Brooklyn is short-handed again with Kevin Durant suffering an MCL sprain that's expected to sideline him the next four to six weeks. That makes Irving's presence more important than ever, particularly as the Nets play a stretch of 10 out of 14 games on the road through Feb. 12.
Let's take a look at what we've seen from Irving in his return and what it means for Brooklyn's future, with the understanding he told reporters after Monday's loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers that his decision to forego the COVID-19 vaccine is "not going to be swayed just because of one thing in this NBA life."
Kyrie showing little rust in return
Any concern about whether Irving would be rusty after more than two months away from the Nets lasted about 12 minutes. Irving missed all three shots he took and had two turnovers in the first quarter against the Pacers. Since then, he has mostly looked like himself.
Monday's game, with Durant sidelined, was Irving's best performance thus far. He scored 27 points on 12-of-23 shooting and handed out nine assists in 37 minutes, during which the Nets outscored Cleveland by 14. It was also Irving's most aggressive game after his usage rate was down a bit during his first three appearances, including just 10 shots in 25 minutes during Brooklyn's blowout of the Chicago Bulls last week with all three stars in the lineup.
Aside from that, perhaps the most interesting aspect of Irving's stat line is that he has attempted five free throws in four games. That's fewer than any four-game stretch for Irving during the 2020-21 regular season (his low then was seven free throw attempts). Irving might still be adjusting to the different way referees have called games after the league's point of emphasis regarding unnatural play to draw fouls, much as we saw with James Harden at the start of the season.
Irving's return to the lineup has coincided with a defensive downturn for the Nets, whose 116.3 points allowed per 100 possessions ranks 25th in the league since Jan. 5, according to NBA Advanced Stats. Previously, Brooklyn ranked sixth with a 107.3 defensive rating. However, as Seth Partnow of The Athletic noted during Irving's debut, the Nets were due to experience defensive regression.
Brooklyn opponents shot an NBA-low 33% on attempts outside the paint before Irving's debut, per analysis of data from NBA Advanced Stats. Since then, they've hit 37%, a touch higher than the league average in that span (36%). Per Second Spectrum's quantified shot quality measure (qSQ), which estimates the expected value of attempts based on their location, type and distance to nearby defenders, the Nets have actually forced more difficult shot attempts with Irving on the court than they have overall.
Irving's return comes just in time
With Durant sidelined, Brooklyn will need Irving over the next month-plus more than the team could even have anticipated in December. Surprisingly for a team with so much scoring on paper, shot creation and shooting are issues Irving helps solve.
Aside from the three stars, no other Brooklyn regular has a higher usage rate than LaMarcus Aldridge's 22% this season. (Rookie center Day'Ron Sharpe, who has been starting recently, is at 24% in a little more than 200 minutes.) And with former 3-point champion Joe Harris sidelined since mid-November by ankle surgery, the Nets rank a shocking 27th in 3-pointers made and a middling 14th in accuracy (35%).
Those needs have led Brooklyn coach Steve Nash to give rotation minutes to the team's other first-round draft pick, guard Cam Thomas. Although Thomas' fearlessness has been a strength, exemplified by his jumper to beat the San Antonio Spurs in overtime earlier this month, he's making 24% of his 3-point attempts and has been an inefficient scorer overall.
Having Irving in the lineup for road games makes it easier for Nash to extend minutes for more complementary players. Second-round pick Kessler Edwards, another of the Nets' four rookies, has proven a find in that regard. Edwards, who has started the team's past four games, is hitting 43% of his 3-point attempts and offers defensive versatility at 6-foot-8. As a result, Brooklyn will want to clear a roster spot to convert Edwards' two-way contract and ensure he's eligible for the playoffs.
Lastly, Irving's presence should help ease the load on Patty Mills, a veteran guard who is averaging a career-high 31 minutes per game. He got a night off last Thursday as the Nets played their fifth game in seven days with a trip across the country and back in between. It was the first game this season Mills has missed.
'Scary hours' with Brooklyn's Big Three?
Cue Drake. "Scary hours" has been Harden's mantra since being traded to Brooklyn last January. We've rarely seen it due to a variety of injuries and Irving's absence sidelining at least one of the Nets' stars at any given moment. They have played 16 total games together out of a possible 114.
The most recent of those 16 offered a glimpse of Brooklyn's potential. Playing in Chicago last Wednesday after a difficult cross-country back-to-back (Sunday at home and Monday in Portland) necessitated by the postponement of a December game against the Trail Blazers, the Nets humbled the East-leading Bulls. Brooklyn outscored Chicago 39-19 in the third quarter, turning what had been a close game into a 26-point rout.
All told, Brooklyn is 13-3 with all three stars in the lineup, including Game 1 of last year's playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks when Harden left in the opening minute because of a hamstring strain. The Nets have outscored opponents by 8.5 points per game in that span, better than any NBA team has managed so far this season.
That performance helps explain why, despite all of Brooklyn's ups and downs this season, the Nets remain a clear favorite to win the championship at Caesars Sportsbook.
If Brooklyn is dominant enough with its Big Three, it's certainly possible the team could win it all with Irving playing exclusively in road games if New York City's vaccine mandate doesn't change between now and then. The idea the Nets could win the championship at home and not have him around to celebrate it underscores the unprecedented nature of Irving's situation.
A little less than three months away from the playoffs, that scenario is not yet a certainty. However, Irving's performance to date and Durant's injury make it all the more realistic Brooklyn will stick with Irving in a part-time role.