Getty
The Brooklyn Nets will be making their first trip to TD Garden this season to face the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, but star guard Kyrie Irving will not be playing due to a shoulder injury, delaying his return to face his former team.
Irving has missed the last six games with the shoulder ailment, which is described as a right shoulder impingement. Here’s how that is described by the Cleveland Clinic.
Impingement syndrome is a common shoulder condition seen in active adults, especially as they get older. This condition is closely related to shoulder bursitis and rotator cuff tendinitis. These conditions may occur alone or in combination.
He has not traveled with the team on its current three game road trip which also featured a matchup against another one of his former teams in the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“I don’t think it’s something he can play through right now,” Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said on Nov. 22. “The shoulder is a sensitive spot, especially for a point guard — you’re like a quarterback.
“He’s got to get to the point where he feels like — and we feel like — he can play. We’re just not at that point right now.”
The Nets are 9-8, but have won five of six without Irving in the lineup. The Celtics are 12-4, good for second in the Eastern Conference.
Celtics Supporters Believe Kyrie Irving is Faking Injury
Getty
Irving didn’t leave Boston on good terms, reneging on comments about wanting to stay long-term with the franchise that traded for him in 2017.
Instead, Irving — a six-time All-Star — signed a deal worth $141 million over four years this offseason with the Nets, combining forces with Kevin Durant. However, Durant is likely out for the season after suffering an Achilles injury in the NBA Finals while with the Golden State Warriors.
There were early reports that Irving’s “mood swings” were causing problems in Brooklyn, but Atkinson was among the Nets brass to shoot it down quickly.
“That is completely false,” Atkinson said. “Strictly speaking in my observation and my experience with him so far, it’s absolutely not true. I’d say I’m the moody one. I really am. I hate to [say it]: I’m cranky, and I have my ups and downs. So if there’s just natural human behavior where guys are up and down, that’s different, but from my perspective I just give Kyrie an A-plus on his consistency and his spirit. It’s been great.”
Former NBA center Kendrick Perkins — who played for the Celtics from 2003-2011 — took to Twitter to call out Irving, saying he was faking the injury to avoid playing in Boston. Perkins is currently an ESPN analysts.
“Kyrie looked at the schedule before the season started and planned this whole injury thing because he didn’t want to go back to Boston this upcoming week!!! He didn’t want that smoke in the Bean Town. Smh,” Perkins, who is now an ESPN analyst, tweeted Friday.
Kyrie looked at the schedule before the season started and planned this whole injury thing because he didn’t want to go back to Boston this upcoming week!!! He didn’t want that smoke in the Bean Town. Smh
Additionally, Celtics fans posted “COWARD” posters all around the area prior to the matchup with the Nets.
Kyrie Irving ‘coward’ posters surround Celtics arena t.co/ll2uhrpuNl
Celtics’ Jaylen Browns had a more diplomatic response to Irving missing the matchup.
“We’ll catch him next time, then,” Brown said.
Kyrie Injury Timeline: When Could Star Guard Return?
Irving was not expected to make the Nets three game road trip, which started on last Friday. He’s expected to be reevaluated when the team returns following the matchup with the Celtics. Because of that, the timeline is murky on when he could be back in the lineup.
After being evaluated this evening, it has been determined that Kyrie Irving will miss the team’s upcoming three-game road trip (NYK, CLE, BOS) according to the #Nets. He will be re-assessed once the team returns.
The Nets face the Celtics at home on Friday. Irving has had a scattered injury history, playing over 70 games just once over the last four seasons.
Irving played in 67 and 60 games during his two-year Celtic tenure. He’s had injuries to his face, quad, shoulder, knee, eye, hip, thigh and back while in the NBA, and had a nasty toe injury at Duke that limited him to just 11 games.
READ NEXT: Lakers’ Anthony Davis Responds to Claim Trade Drama Rooted in Racism