While the Celtics have been dealing with illnesses left and right — Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Kemba Walker and Romeo Langford — the Nets have been bitten hard by the injury bug.
Chief among their injuries, aside from Kevin Durant's right Achilles that he had surgically repaired before the 2019-20 season, was Kyrie Irving's right shoulder impingement. After Brooklyn visited Denver on November 14, the ex-Celtics point guard missed a career-high 26 consecutive games — including two matchups against Boston.
Shortly after Irving revealed he'd received a cortisone shot back on Christmas Eve, but could still undergo surgery if the shot didn't take, the point guard was back at practice for the Nets. On Thursday, Irving said he wanted to make his return within a week.
Fast-forward to Sunday and Brooklyn has cleared Irving to play against the Atlanta Hawks.
Irving and the Nets face the Celtics again on March 3 — in Boston.
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