What was Kyrie Irving’s ‘personal reason’ for missing Nets vs. Sixers gamer?
The Nets said Kyrie Irving wasn’t playing against the 76ers for “personal reasons.” What exactly were they?
Irving, who is healthy, did not play and did not give an explanation to Nets head coach Steve Nash — who texted him two-and-a-half hours before tip-off and said he did not receive an answer.
One early report cited a source close to Irving suggested the All-Star guard “just didn’t want to play.”
When asked about the report, Nash said: “I haven’t spoken to him yet. I can’t really comment because I haven’t spoke to him, and it’s personal reasons. So it has to come from Kyrie, but I don’t believe that to be the case.”
The NBA recently instituted policy fining teams at least $100,000 if they are found to be resting healthy players for nationally-televised games. The Nets-76ers matchup was aired on TNT.
Another report suggested Irving sat out of Thursday’s game because of the insurrection that occurred in Washington on Wednesday. The Nets star guard was one of a number of players against returning to play in the Orlando bubble in the aftermath of Jacob Blake’s shooting in Kenosha, Wis.
When asked about knowing Irving’s reason for missing the game, Caris LeVert said: “He texted us before the game, but that’s a personal issue for him. We support him. He’s our brother. We went out there, and we competed without him. So, like I said, it was a personal issue for him.”
Whatever the reason, it is unclear whether Irving will rejoin the Nets for Friday’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, which will be Brooklyn’s second game in as many nights.
NETS-SIXERS RIVALRY
There is no love lost between the Nets and 76ers. That has been the elephant in the room ever since Joel Embiid elbowed Jarrett Allen in the face in Game 2 of the 2019 playoffs, then laughed it off in the postgame press conference.
That was also the case on Thursday night, when things got a little bit chippy between the two teams in the Nets’ 122-109 win over the Sixers.
“I guess rivalries are kind of: I mean, we played them in the playoffs, we play them same division,” Joe Harris said, “we see each other four times every year, so a lot of familiarity with a number of those guys, and you know its two competitive groups. But I think just because proximity and then the amount of times we play against each other or have played against each other in the past I guess you could say that it is.”
Allen played one of his better games against Embiid, finishing with 15 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and a block.
“I think honestly, there’s some little fire going on up there,” Allen said. “Like even looking at the fans, I feel like they think the same thing, too. We play them like eight times a year, so obviously we’re gonna start trying to go back and forth at each other. But it’s just all good competition. We love going at each other and you know, Jared Dudley really sparked it all.”
CORNROW CARIS
LeVert went with a hairstyle change, opting out of his fro and into cornrows. He has been given the nickname “Cornrow Caris” on social media, living up to his big-time performances with the braided look on Thursday with 22 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and two steals.
LeVert said he just needed a haircut and figured he might as well get the cornrows back.
“It’s just a spur of the moment type of thing to be honest with you. I don’t put too much thought into it,” he said before addressing Nets fans: “I appreciate you vibing with the braids, but it’s not really that big of a thing. I just kind of do how I feel to be honest with you.”
Asked if he could tell a difference in LeVert when he rocks cornrows, Allen said: “You know the saying: Look good, play good. But yeah, for Caris, his confidence, it’s starting to come back. He knows what type of player he is. He knows that he can take over the game at any moment.”
