For the second night in a row, Brooklyn star point guard Kyrie Irving won’t be on the floor when his Nets take the court.
According to Marc Spears and the Nets injury report, the 28-year-old will miss tonight’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies due to personal reasons. The news comes after Irving missed Thursday’s Nets win over the conference-leading 76ers. Brooklyn also listed the point guard as out due to “personal reasons” against Philadelphia.
Of course, it’s hard to speculate on what Irving’s exact conflict is. Regardless, missing two key games in the beginning of the year isn’t ideal.
Meanwhile, the Nets other superstar, Kevin Durant, will remain out due to COVID-19 protocols. Head coach Steve Nash said that the earliest he can return will be Sunday.
Nets just listed Kyrie Irving as out tonight against Memphis due to personal reasons.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) January 8, 2021
The Nets had no problems in Irving’s absence against Philadelphia. Behind 28 points from Joe Harris, Brooklyn won 122-109 and advanced to 5-4. The Nets held Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons to a combined 31 points on 11-of-27 from the floor.
But, most of the conversation still centered on Irving. Apparently, the Nets point guard hadn’t informed his starting coach directly about missing the game on Thursday.
“I just found out,” Nash said on Thursday evening, just a few hours before tip against the 76ers. “I just sent him a message in the last half hour and haven’t heard back. It’s a private matter.”
Now, Irving will miss another game. Reports confirmed that he did not travel with the team to Memphis where Brooklyn will play tonight. The 2-6 Grizzlies have struggled after an early season injury to Ja Morant, but could still give the shorthanded Nets trouble.
Without Irving, Brooklyn (5-4) will tip-off in Memphis at 8 p.m. ET.
The post Kyrie Irving Not Playing Again Tonight vs. Grizzlies appeared first on The Spun.
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