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Kyrie Irving and the Nets have no interest in looking back at what could have been had he been available all season.
“Honestly, there’s no time to consider the past,” Irving told reporters following his first game at Barclays Center this season on Sunday. “It’s not gonna do anybody in our locker room, anybody any justice thinking about what could have been, the should’ves, the would’ves, the could’ves. We just control what we can moving forward.
“We know where we are in the standings and we also know how much talent we have in that locker room and what we’re capable of, so though this may look like a loss that could’ve been in the win column, for us, we’ll just take our bumps and bruises and move forward, but I think what we’ve been able to learn thus far is when we limit our distractions — and that includes thinking about the past and thinking about what the future holds, we’re not in a good place. I don’t think that’s a good energy to have or a good mindset, so the mentality moving forward is, let’s just take it one day at a time, live in the moment and enjoy it cause nothing’s guaranteed here, not even tomorrow.”
Irving struggled in his first home game after Mayor Eric Adams lifted the private sector vaccine mandate, going 6-for-22 from the field for 16 points and 11 assists in a 119-110 loss to the Hornets.
He has played just 22 games for the Nets this season, having originally been exiled from the team over his stance to remain unvaccinated before being allowed back to play only on the road.
The Nets, now 39-36, are fighting for a seed in the play-in round — a scenario that comes as a result of a series of issues they’ve had this season. Irving’s lack of availability would be at the top of that list.
“I’m not even thinking about it that way,” Kevin Durant said when asked whether Irving had put the Nets in a tough spot. “He’s here now, this is the situation we’re in, put our heads down and go to work. It’s a challenge and everybody is going through challenges this year as a team. This is what we’ve got in front of us and we got to lock in. I’m excited about what’s ahead.”
The Nets are looking to sweep the season series against the Pistons on Tuesday, having beaten Detroit the first three times they’ve played.
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