Kyrie Irving is set to make his season debut for the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday against the Indiana Pacers after previously being sidelined due to his unvaccinated status.
With the Nets struggling for numbers with several players entering the league's health and safety protocols, the franchise made the call to allow Irving to return as a part-time player, making him available to play in road games.
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Irving will still be unable to play against the Knicks and Raptors due to vaccination regulations in New York City and Canada, but his return gives the Nets a huge boost regardless.
Ironically, the Nets have been one of the best road teams this season, tied with the Utah Jazz at 13-3 while their form at Barclays Center hasn't quite been up to par, sitting at 10-9 on the season.
Irving will likely assume his spot in the starting lineup for road games, splitting duties with Patty Mills, who is enjoying a career year in Brooklyn.
After starting the season on the bench, Mills has filled in as a starter in the backcourt alongside James Harden for the past 21 games, in which Mills has averaged 16.0 points on 45 percent shooting and 40.6 percent from three, with his ability to move without the ball and knock down threes serving as a perfect complement alongside The Beard.
A career night for 🇦🇺 @Patty_Mills!
— NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) December 26, 2021
Mills finished with 34 points (career-high) and 7 assists. Mills' eight 3-pointers set the #NBAXmas record with 8 threes. 🔥🔥 @brooklynnets #NetsWorld #NBA75 pic.twitter.com/mt6xzF0ak5
“Patty’s added so much to our team,” Nets head coach Steve Nash said after Mills' 34-point explosion on Christmas Day.
“Obviously, we don’t win tonight without him, but so many nights this year, whether it’s scoring, whether it’s just mature IQ, experience, those things you see on the floor, but it’s just the way he approaches the game: his spirit, his mentality. He’s added so much to our group, our culture, just by the person he is, by how pure his motives are and how much he wants to win as a group and for his teammates. He’s been unbelievable, not just on the floor, but off the floor as well.”
Patty Mills, 2021-22
| GAMES | MIN | PTS | AST | REB | STL | FG% | 3P% | |
| Starter | 21 | 34.4 | 16.0 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 45.5 | 40.6 |
| Bench | 14 | 25.0 | 10.4 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 41.3 | 48.1 |
So what will it look like with Irving back?
“You can’t play everyone,” Nets coach Steve Nash said. “Trying to figure out lineups, all those variables, home and away and all that stuff. Great. Let’s take it head-on, and let’s try to make the most of it.”
Mills' flexibility in moving between roles this season will give the Nets plenty of confidence that they can adapt on the fly as they've done all season, fielding 12 different starting lineups already. The Aussie's ability to slot into either guard position, run with the starters or control the second unit is the key to easing Irving back into the lineup and the 33-year-old says Irving's return is only going to be a good thing, even if it is only for half of their games.
“Everyone knows who he is and what he does," Mills said of Irving. "But I think he'll be able to bring that good pace and movement and ball movement to the group. At times we get stagnant and he'll be perfect for that.”
MORE: What can the Nets expect from Kyrie's return?
Irving hasn't touched an NBA floor since Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals last season and hasn't played alongside Kevin Durant and James Harden since Game 1 of that series. Despite the fanfare of their arrival in Brooklyn, the trio has only played eight regular-season games together — however, in the small sample size they were frighteningly good offensively, boasting an offensive rating of 119.6 points per 100 possessions, per NBA Stats.
Irving's return will immediately add some much-needed punch to the Nets' offence, which currently ranks 14th in the league. During the 2020-21 season, the seven-time All-Star had one of his best seasons, averaging 26.9 points 6.0 assists and 4.8 rebounds, while becoming just the ninth player in NBA history to join the 50-40-90 club, shooting above 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 90 percent from the free throw line.
With shooting guard Joe Harris still a couple of weeks away from returning after ankle surgery, Irving and Mills at the two-guard gives the Nets two completely different looks and if Steve Nash is feeling extra adventurous, a lineup of Mills, Irving, Harden, Durant, plus a big has the potential to be one of the most explosive offensive lineups in the NBA.
As it stands, the Nets currently sit second in the Eastern Conference at 23-12, two games back of the Chicago Bulls.
As they look to assert themselves as the favourite to come out of the East, having Irving back undeniably raises their ceiling.
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