USA Today via Reuters
Jan 20, 2021; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving (11) dribbles in the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Jan 20, 2021; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving (11) dribbles in the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Tonight, the newly formed trio of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and James Harden will be playing together for the first time. There are high expectations from the team as Kyrie is returning after almost two weeks of absence. But what was the reason for Irving’s sudden departure?
Notably, Kyrie was out of action because of personal reasons. Unfortunately, we have no clue about what those reasons were. According to ESPN, Irving said:
“There’s a lot of family and personal stuff going on. So, [I] just want to leave it at that. I’m back, I’m happy to be back. And we got some great pieces and we just move on and I let my actions and my game speak for itself like I planned on doing. [I] just needed a pause.”
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Irving has missed a total of seven games in the last two weeks. Additionally, a video surfaced of him being maskless while attending a party. For that, Kyrie was fined $50,000.
However, that was not the end of his financial woes. As per Marc Stein, Kyrie also forfeited more than $400,000 per game for the games missed during quarantine.
The NBA has fined the Nets' Kyrie Irving $50,000 for violating the league's health and safety protocols and assigned him a five-day quarantine
He will forfeit more than $400,000 in salary per game for those missed during quarantine at a rate of 1/81.6 of his season salary pic.twitter.com/oaj4u0dWHm
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 15, 2021
However, with all this drama over, Irving is finally expected to come back vs the Cavaliers. This leaves us with one of the biggest questions: Can Kyrie Irving co-exist alongside James Harden and Kevin Durant?
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What should fans expect from the trio of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden?
USA Today via Reuters
Dec 27, 2020; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving (11) looks to pass during the first half against the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports
In the last two games, Harden and KD displayed how lethal their duo can be. Well, they did play for 3 years together at OKC, which certainly helped them in building chemistry more briskly. However, Irving has never played a single game with Harden.
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Additionally, knowing Irving’s playing style, he needs the ball in his hands to make things happen for the team. In fact, many used to think the same about Harden prior to the two games he has played for the Nets.
Thankfully for Brooklyn and KD, the Beard has taken the responsibility of facilitating the offense for his team. But will Kyrie Irving‘s return disrupt that rhythm? We will find out in a few hours.
