Kyrie Irving 'crossing my fingers' that he might play again at Barclays Center
Nets guard Kyrie Irving looks on from the bench in the second half during an NBA game against the Jazz on Friday in Salt Lake City. Credit: AP/Rick Bowmer
Is there something in the works that would allow Kyrie Irving to play at home?
After the Nets lost their eighth straight game Sunday, Irving made cryptic remarks at the end of a postgame news conference that indicate he is holding out hope that he soon will join his teammates on the floor at Barclays Center.
Irving, who is not vaccinated, is not allowed to play in New York or Toronto because of local mandates.
After the Nets’ 0-5 western swing, Irving is eligible to play in only three of the team’s next 11 games.
"Who knows?" he said when asked about not playing for a significant stretch.
When asked if he has been talking to NYC officials, Irving made it pretty clear that he hasn’t. Still, he is holding out hope that something will change.
"I’m keeping a positive mindset that anything can happen these next few days and the next week, and just crossing my fingers that something can come up either before All-Star break or even just after," Irving said. "So I’m definitely keeping a positive attitude in that sense."
Since Irving’s return as a part-time player, the Nets have gone 4-8 in the road games in which he has played and 2-4 in the home games in which he has been inactive.
No timetable on KD
Before the game, coach Steve Nash declined to put a timetable on Kevin Durant’s return. Still, he sounded pretty encouraged by his star’s recent progress.
Durant has not played since injuring his MCL against New Orleans last month, and the team has gone 2-9 without him.
"We feel really good about his recovery so far," Nash said. "There’s been no setbacks and everything has gone to plan and then some. So we feel really positive about the progress he is making and the return will be a full one and in not too long of a period."
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
