Getty Kyrie Irving could face his nightmare.
The Brooklyn Nets have Kevin Durant back from injury and that means they can start their climb back up into the standings.
After securing the number one seed for much of the year, Durant going down saw the team slip all the way down to the 8th seed, which means the Nets would need to be in the play-in tournament to officially qualify for the playoffs.
It’s now the point in the season where every game matters because of playoff matchups. While you won’t see teams outright tanking to avoid certain teams, it’s definitely something everyone will be keeping an eye on.
In the case of the Nets, it’s actually something that could come back and bite them if they run into a certain team. Kyrie Irving is unable to play in Nets home games because of New York City mandates preventing him from doing so, and that problem could become an even bigger issue if they run into the Toronto Raptors in the playoffs.
Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz notes the variety of things that can go wrong if the Nets do run into the Raptors, and it all comes back to Irving.
Watch Out For the Raptors
GettyThe Raptors will be dangerous.
Not having Irving for home games is a huge deal, but it’d be an even bigger problem if they didn’t have him for an entire series. This is the exact situation looming for the Nets if they find a way to face the Raptors in the playoffs.
Canada has a mandate similar to New York where Irving would be unable to play in the country, so he’d miss the whole series if this showdown happened.
“This would be a nightmare scenario for the Nets, who still don’t know when they’ll see Ben Simmons for the first time,” Swartz wrote. Asking Kevin Durant to win a playoff series without his two co-stars isn’t impossible but could lead to a lot of extra wear and tear for a player who’s already missed significant time this season with a sprained MCL.”
Outside of Irving, it could also be a punishing matchup for the Nets because of how athletic the young and upstart Raptors are.
“Brooklyn doesn’t have a dominant big to punish the Raptors inside (no, Andre Drummond doesn’t count), and the Raptors have enough length on the wing with OG Anunoby and Scottie Barnes to force Durant into difficult shots,” Swartz continued.
Currently, the Nets and Raptors are holding down the 8th and 7th spots in the playoffs respectively. A matchup between the two would be highly unlikely unless there is more movement before the regular season concludes.
Fingers Crossed
Statement from #Nets star Kevin Durant 👇🏾
No matter what team the Nets come across, they’ll still have a Kyrie Irving dilemma. As it stands, he’ll miss a good chunk of playoff games if the mandate keeps up.
Kevin Durant called out New York City mayor Eric Adams over the issue and asked for him to figure it out. He’s since backtracked and issued an apology, but it’s clear the team is reaching a boiling point.
With Ben Simmons nowhere in sight, the team really needs Irving to return to the lineup full-time, and that’s something that doesn’t seem to be happening any time soon.
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