James Harden's huge debut with the Nets sparked questions about Kyrie Irving
James Harden’s debut for the Brooklyn Nets was pretty much exactly what they could have hoped for. Sure, there were turnovers (19). The Nets also beat a mediocre Orlando Magic team (6-7).
But Harden and Kevin Durant were dominant together, even if their chemistry had faded sightly from their Thunder days. Harden managed to set a Nets’ franchise record with 14 assists in the game. He finished the game with 32 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds, which made him the first player in NBA history with a 30-point triple-double in their debut with a team, per ESPN Stats & Info. Durant added 42 points and five assists.
Harden said after the game that his transition has been fairly seamless: “When you play with really, really good players, it’s pretty easy.”
There is, however, a dark cloud looming over Brooklyn. Harden gracefully addressed the lingering controversy with some optimism after the win in his Instagram story.
Right… so where is Kyrie Irving? And when is he back?
Irving was put in a five-day quarantine for partying indoors without a mask. His actions led to a $50,000 fine and the forfeiture of roughly $800,000 in earnings. That absence covered only a fraction of his time away from the team, which has now spanned six games.
Irving was eligible to play on Saturday night, but the Nets listed him as out as a part of the league’s health and safety protocols. Nets coach Steve Nash wouldn’t commit to a timeline for Irving’s return. Nash was asked about Irving before Saturday’s game. From the New York Post:
“Hopefully, we’re close. I can’t really give you a firm update on that. We have to assess that as we go. We do want to make sure he ramps accordingly so that he’s not susceptible to unnecessary injury and protect him the best we can. But hopefully, it will be a short period of time. That is to be determined, though.”
It’s strange that Irving needs an undetermined timeline to ramp up activities while Harden didn’t even need a practice to get in the mix with Brooklyn. Of course, he only went four days without playing as Houston traded him to Brooklyn. Irving last played an NBA game on Jan. 4.
Nets general manager Sean Marks said on Jan. 14 that Irving was “excited” to get back on the court following Brooklyn’s acquisition of Harden. Irving has largely avoided media interviews this season, and so it’s unclear why he’s been absent for so long and what he thinks about the Harden trade.
We’ve seen that Durant and Harden have immediately clicked — which only sparked more questions about whether (or if) Irving will return to the Nets. And then there’s the question as to how those three stars will function on and off the court.