What Kyrie Irving’s return to the Nets’ lineup means for bettors

Detailing how Kyrie Irving’s return could impact the Nets and sports bettors.

As luck would have it, Kyrie Irving made his season debut on Wednesday night just in time to stop the Brooklyn Nets’ three-game slide. His return marked the first time the Big 3 of Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden took the court together since Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Although, Harden played just a minute of that game before tweaking his hamstring and hobbling back in Games 6 and 7 while Kyrie left the rotation due to an ankle injury.

Of course, Irving’s return to the Nets’ lineup comes with an asterisk. He’ll play only in away games as his unvaccinated status forbids him from participating at Barclays Center. Surely, part-time Kyrie Irving is better than nothing at all, but how will his in-and-out nature impact all things Brooklyn Nets?

First and foremost, you look at what Irving’s return means for the Nets’ championship odds. They’re already Tipico’s highest-projected team to win both the East (+130) and the NBA Championship (+250). So, never mind those team-oriented accomplishments. The more legitimate question is what impact Irving’s reinsertion has on his teammates.

For example, how much does Kyrie take the ball out of the hands of Durant and Harden? That doesn’t seem like it’ll be a concern for either of the two players since they’ll likely appreciate some of the weight being lifted from their shoulders on a nightly basis. But, I mean, James Harden has really rounded into form now after a slow start to the season in which he admittedly struggled to figure out his role. Another role change could cause a step backward and lead to more growing pains.

The same goes for KD but to a much lesser extent. He’s Kevin Durant, as he once reminded the basketball world in the midst of an opening-round postseason matchup with the LA Clippers in 2019. KD is still going to occupy his same spots, get the ball when he wants, and operate however he pleases. But a little less volume for the league’s leading scorer (30 points per game) and a bit more help could interfere with his MVP campaign (+240 odds at Tipico). Maybe it won’t, but it’s reasonable to suspect that.

The bottom line is this: Things didn’t work out for the Nets last postseason when their Big 3 wasn’t whole. Irving’s return to the lineup will reimplement the vision that the front office had for this team upon its construction a season ago. Wednesday, against the Pacers, was a positive first step towards what they hope is a scary-good, fully-functioning machine come April—just in time for another push at an NBA championship as long as Irving is eligible to play.

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