The Brooklyn Nets play their third game in 72 hours on Sunday, and will may still be without both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant for the third straight game…but they may also have them.
Irving sat out Thursday and Friday’s back-to-back due to “personal reasons,” and while he finally made contact with head coach Steve Nash, his status remains TBD.
I messaged with Ky [on Thursday], but I want to keep all that stuff private," Nash said prior to Friday’s loss in Memphis. "We don't have any decision on Sunday yet, but we'll figure it out before we go on Sunday. It was a personal matter, so, we’re going to respect privacy."
As for Durant, he hasn’t played in any of the Nets’ three games this week due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, a result of being quarantined as a contact tracing initiatives due to exposure to COVID-19.
Durant had already tested positive for coronavirus last March, but that does not exempt him from protocols – and Nash is hopeful he will have his other star back from a week-long absence when the Nets welcome KD’s former team, the Thunder, at Barclays Center.
“Kevin is still on track for Sunday, so we just have to hope his tests continue to be negative and everything stays as is," Nash said Friday. "It appears he’ll be ready to go Sunday night.”
The one possible monkey wrench in all this? The Nets have played their back-to-back games Thursday and Friday against teams who had a player removed from the bench mid-game due to the league’s safety protocols.
Thursday’s win over the 76ers saw Seth Curry, who was inactive with an ankle injury but on the Philly bench, leave mid-game due to the protocols, and Memphis center Jonas Valanciunas left Friday’s game at the half and did not return for the same reason.
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