Injury Update: Kyrie Irving Reveals His Final Status vs. Suns
The Brooklyn Nets, riding a three-game losing skid, are in the Grand Canyon State to take on the depleted Phoenix Suns at the Footprint Center.
The major question mark for Brooklyn was the status of superstar guard Kyrie Irving. He entered Thursday morning's shootaround listed as probable with right calf soreness. Irving told reporters at shootaround that he will play vs. the Suns.
The good news is exactly what Brooklyn hoped for when Irving reported the right calf soreness. Irving, who reported the soreness and was a late scratch in Tuesday's loss vs. the San Antonio Spurs, was deemed to be day-to-day.
"I hope so, that's definitely the hope," Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn stated on Irving's injury being a short-term issue. "That after a day, he'll get some treatment and hopefully be ready to go against Phoenix."
Irving's return after missing his 11th game of the season clearly adds a scoring punch on the offensive end of the floor. His absence on that end of the floor was clearly visible in Tuesday's loss, especially with forward Kevin Durant (MCL sprain) sidelined.
"That’s a lot of offense for us," guard Seth Curry told reporters at shootaround in Phoenix Thursday morning. "That's where we've been letting down honestly, not scoring enough points. And Kai is obviously one of the main guys on this team, so we need him out there to be the driving force for us. He is who he is.”
The Nets have assigned two-way guard David Duke Jr., two-way guard Dru Smith, and second-year wing Kessler Edwards to their NBA G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets. All three players will not be available.
For the Suns, the team is heading into the matchup with a chance of missing both of their stars. The team has already ruled star guard Devin Booker (Left Groin Strain) out vs. Brooklyn. Chris Paul (Right Hip Soreness) has also been downgraded to out.
Phoenix has also ruled Josh Okogie (Nasal Fracture), Cameron Payne (Right Foot Sprain), former Net Landry Shamet (Right Foot Soreness), and Jae Crowder (Not With the Team) out for Thursday night's matchup. The team has upgraded Cameron Johnson (Right Meniscus Tear) to available.
