"Anything can happen these next few days" - Kyrie Irving keeps a positive mindset about playing in Brooklyn Nets' home games despite his unvaccinated status
Kyrie Irving put up his sixth 25-point plus game of the season, but could not stop the Brooklyn Nets from crashing to their eighth consecutive loss on Sunday.
Irving had 27 points and 11 assists even as the Nets suffered a 20-point thrashing (104-124) at the hands of the Denver Nuggets. They have now slipped out of the top six in the Eastern Conference standings.
Held them to just 29 points in the second half. THE WHOLE SECOND HALF. https://t.co/NU57OizK1i
Part of the reason for the Brooklyn Nets' recent struggles is their long injury list. Kevin Durant, James Harden, LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicholas Claxton all sat out the game against Denver. The Nets have also had to deal with playing without Kyrie Irving in their home games because of the player's refusal to get himself vaccinated against COVID-19.
As a result, Irving hasn't played a single game at Barclays Center this season, even after making his return to the Nets on January 5.
The point-guard, however, is keeping an optimistic outlook regarding his unvaccinated status. Irving hopes something will change within the next few weeks, on either side of All-Star weekend (February 18-20) that could allow him play home games. He told the media following the loss to the Denver Nuggets:
"I'm keeping a positive mindset that anything can happen in these next few days or next week. Just crossing my fingers that something can come up either before All-Star break or even just after. I'm definitely keeping a positive attitude in that sense."
Kyrie Irving says he's "keeping a positive mindset" towards possibly being able to play in home games despite not being vaccinated: https://t.co/nWgLOyYvXN
"He's a born scorer" - Kyrie Irving on Brooklyn Nets teammate Cam Thomas' emergence
Although the Brooklyn Nets got blown out by the Nuggets on Sunday, they were in the game until the end of the first half. The score after the first two quarters read 75-76 in favor of Denver.
However, a meltdown in the second half, with Denver limiting Brooklyn to only 29 points combined in the third and fourth periods, resulted in yet another loss. The Nets consequently finished their five-game road schedule with a 0-5 record.
While the results will no doubt worry the Nets, the performance of rookie Cam Thomas will certainly be encouraging. Thomas dropped 20 points on the Nuggets while coming off the bench for Brooklyn.
Kyrie Irving had some high praise for the 20-year-old at the end of the contest, saying:
"If you've watched any film on him, he's a born scorer and we want him to do the little things that would make him even greater... I'm going to continue to be in his ear and just tell him that both ends of the floor matter. He's just a good listener, so when you see him progressing, I'm not surprised."
"He's a born scorer and we want him to do the little things that would make him even greater... he's a good listener, so when you see him progressing, I'm not surprised"
Kyrie Irving talks about Cam Thomas' emergence: https://t.co/NF1J8OsFmu
The Nets will host the Boston Celtics in their next game on February 8 in a bid to get back to winning ways.