“They are almost always erased once he’s actually on the floor” - Joe Vardon says Kyrie Irving always lays any doubts to rest over his ability with his on-court displays
NBA and Brooklyn Nets superstar Kyrie Irving saw his highly anticipated return for the Nets against the Indiana Pacers answer a number of questions regarding the franchise and its generational talent.
Joe Vardon of The Athletic, spoke about how Kyrie almost always seems to answer the questions raised about him, with his performances on the court. Vardon said:
"There have been so many asterisks or question marks near Irving for so much of his career, but they are almost always erased once he’s actually on the floor."
Speculation has been rife about whether Uncle Drew will play again this season, given his Covid-19 vaccination stance. But with his season debut against the Pacers officially on the books, Vardon spoke about the build-up to the game.
"There were weeks this season – months? – when Irving had to wonder when he would play again, ever, not just in 2022. And when he finally got the chance, he looked like, well, Kyrie."
Kyrie Irving was nervous. Out a long time. Worried what teammates would think. And about that jumper. His return to the NBA mirrored his first game at a new high school — a reminder of who Kyrie is as a basketball genius. @TheAthleticNBA theathletic.com/3054102/2022/0…
Recapping Kyrie Irving's return against the Pacers
The Brooklyn Nets traveled to Indiana to take on the Indiana Pacers, the overaching headline going into the game was that it would mark the return of Kyrie Irving to the basketball court. It was also just the ninth time to date that Brooklyn would have the luxury of fielding all three of its superstars on the floor at the same time during the regular season.
The game lived up to its billing, as Kyrie Irving dropped 22 points in 32 minutes of action on a little over 52% shooting from the field along with 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 block. The Pacers, ravaged by Covid-19, had to rely on Lance Stephenson and Domantas Sabonis to come up with the goods as both men scored 30 and 32 points respectively.
Kyrie Irving season debut:
22 PTS
4 AST
9-17 FG
+16 +/-
in 32 MINS https://t.co/rIdnTomTKB
The majority of the heavy lifting for the Brooklyn-based side was once again done by MVP candidate Kevin Durant, as the 11-time All-Star dropped 39 points, collected 8 rebounds, and dished out 7 assists on better than 62% shooting from the field and a little over 33% shooting from the perimeter.
By no means did Kyrie produce one of the greatest performances of his career, however this did give an indication of just how offensively formidable a full-strength Brooklyn Nets team could be.
James Harden could go back to being the quintessential point guard that he is and orchestrate the offense as Irving will handle the scoring responsibilities along with Durant.
While the Nets' defense might still prove to be an issue, Kyrie isn't particularly prolific on that side of the ball. On paper, the offense looks absolutely unstoppable as any one of the Nets' three superstars could go for 50 points a night.