‘Off the grid’ Kyrie Irving misses fourth game in a row

 

Nets’ star point guard Kyrie Irving missed his fourth straight game on Tuesday against the Nuggets. It has been cited that he has been missing the games for personal reasons but coach Steve Nash failed to give any update when he was asked about his availability ahead of the match.

“I do not have any updates, sorry,” Nash said ahead of the game.

The Nets had listed Irving as doubtful for Sunday’s game against the Thunder but he was ruled out thereafter. Everyone was hoping that he would be available for Tuesday’s game but he was announced as unavailable once again.

Nash also said that he is not sure whether Irving will need to undergo quarantine through the NBA’s health and safety protocols whenever he returns.

The Post’s Brian Lewis reported that Irving’s absence was related to Wednesday’s riot at the US Capitol by supporters of President Trump.

Irving has missed four matches since then and there is still no update on his availability.

According to Jason Dumas, his sources have told him that Irving is “off the grid.”

Irving had signed a four-year deal worth $141 million ($A200m) with the Nets in 2019. However, he played just 20 games for them since them as his last season was cut short by a shoulder injury.

Irving’s absence still remains a mystery but he was seen wishing his father on his Birthday on Instagram on Monday.

The Nets have struggled without Irving so far even though they got Kevin Durant back on Sunday from his COVID-19-related quarantine.

“It is a challenge when we are missing guys,” Nash said.

“Spencer’s loss moved everyone up the line one. The amount of load, and the amount of load is really important when you’re playing more than a game every other day. So, that affects us. Mentally, physically, depth wise, injury risk, but also talent wise.

“Guys are having to share more responsibility than they are accustomed to, and then Ky being out adds to that, so guys are going two spots up the line, and getting more load and more responsibility … but no one is going to cry for us.

“We have to continue to build and grow and work at it and figure things out, and that is the challenge in this condensed schedule, is getting little pockets of time. I just finished telling you, in defense of the players, they’ve got to be exhausted. And now I’m telling you, in defense of the coaches, we need to practice. You know? So that is the dilemma we face, and we try to find that balance, and it is the same for everybody.”