KYRIE IRVING NOW A FULL TIME PLAYER

 On Thursday March 23rd New York City pulled back the vaccination mandate for non vaccinated athletes and entertainers. This clears the way for Brooklyn Nets Guard Kyrie Irving to play in home games. The Nets have 9 games left, 7 in which are played in New York City. 6 of the games are home and 1 road game against the New York Knicks. With Kyrie being able to play now in home games the Nets will be able to have their full team for the most part together for the first time this season.

This will be great because now the team can build some consistency without worrying about Irving being in and out of the lineup. Also, this will leave the Nets without any excuses as they will have both Irving and Kevin Durant. The Nets are currently in 8th place and if the standings stayed the way they are they would have to play the Raptors in Canada. Kyrie is currently unable to enter Canada since he is not vaccinated so the Nets would be without him. With 9 games remaining The Nets just have to do the best they can to hold on to the 8th seed.

With Kyrie eligible to play in all games for the remainder of the season I think the Nets will thrive and build chemistry. I do not think they will win a championship but with Kyrie and Durant if they can make it out of the play- in games they will make it to  the conference finals depending on the first round matchup. If they play the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round the Nets are going home. Any other matchup I see them getting past the first round then losing in the 2nd round of the playoffs.   

MVP Ladder 3-19-2022

 The season is winding down and this has been a great year especially when it comes to the Race for MVP. Here are my top 5 MVP candidates. As the season has unfolded it has proven to be a 2 man race with everyone else in the distance for various reasons.

1. Nikola Jokic

The reigning MVP is making a case as to why he should be a back to back winner. He is putting historic numbers on the floor the likes of which we have only seen from Wilt Chamberlain. He is doing this essentially by himself, nearly averaging a triple double while his two co-stars have been out due to injury for all season in the case of Jamal Murray and most of the season when it comes to Michael Porter Jr. Another strong case for Jokic to win back to back is the fact that the Denver Nuggets with him off the floor their plus minus is historically bad at this point in the season. Some may feel Jokic won by default last year due to injuries but this year he has more than earned it.

2. Joel Embiid 

Joel Embiid is having an amazing season while being the Primary option on the team. Prior to obtaining James Harden in February the Philadelphia 76ers’ did not have a consistent number 2 option. Embiid had a stretch during the season in 23 straight games he scored at least 25 points. The last time that happened in franchise history was when Hall of Famer Allen Iverson did it for 27 straight games during his MVP Season in the 2000-2001 season. Also Embiid has put the Sixers on his back despite the Ben Simmons saga that permeated  the team until Simmons was traded to the Nets.

3. Ja Morant 

Ja Morant has had a spectacular season. He has the Memphis Grizzlies with the 2nd best record in the league. He will no doubt win Most Improved Player of the year this season. The only thing that would go against Ja in such a tight race is the fact that when he missed time this season the Grizzlies continued to win. They are 13-2 when Morant does not play this season.

4. Stephen Curry

Steph has had a good season and has helped the Warriors get back to the Championship ways. They have the 3rd best record in the league. Steph is 3rd due to the Warriors struggles once star Forward Draymond Green went down with injury. Also due to Steph’s recent ankle injury he won’t be back until the start of the playoffs which all but takes away his consideration for MVP this season. 

5. DeMar DeRozan.

 DeRozan has had a great season. He proved many doubters wrong this year who said his signing with the Chicago Bulls was a bad move.

He has helped lead the Bulls to the 5th seed this year after missing the playoffs last season. The only reason he isn’t higher is due to the Bulls playing lackluster basketball after the NBA All Star break. They are 2-8 in their last 10 games including losing 3 straight.

Nets VS Sixers' Takeaway

 The Philadelphia 76ers faced off against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night in a highly anticipated matchup for various reasons. The game had many storylines including James Harden facing the Nets for the first time since being traded back on February 10th. In addition this was Ben Simmons first time coming back to Philadelphia this season after sitting out the season and requesting a trade from Philadelphia and citing mental health problems preventing him from playing for them. Ben Simmons did not play in the game but he did sit on the bench.

The game turned into a blowout win for the Brooklyn Nets 129 to 100. The game was over pretty much at halftime the Nets were up 21 points. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving had excellent games; Durant dropped 25 points and 14 rebounds, Irving poured 22 points and 5 assists. Joel Embiid struggled from the field 5 for 17 but still managed to produce 27 points. James Harden on the other hand struggled all night 3 for 17 from the field for just 11 points.

The biggest takeaways from this game are that the Nets will always have a chance with Durant and Kyrie playing together. This makes the current Vaccine Mandate in New York City crucial due to the fact that Irving would be eligible to play in just 1 of their last 8 games this season.  

In addition, James Harden has once again in a big time game so he will have to perform better in their litmus test against the Miami Heat on March 21st. Lastly the Sixers' bench will likely  be whats holds them back from winning a championship if their production does not improve. 

Championship Contenders or Pretenders

 At the start of the NBA Season the two favorites to win the NBA Finals in most people’s eyes were the Los Angeles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets. These two teams at the moment are far from contenders at this point of the season. Both teams are currently in position for the Play in Tournament. We will examine how both teams got here and also look to see if either can make it out of the Play in Tournament and possibly make a run at the NBA title.

The Los Angeles Lakers traded for Russell Westbrook this off season and despite the fit concerns many assumed that LeBron James could make the fit work between himself, Westbrook and Anthony Davis. The fit has not worked well with Anthony Davis missing over 20 games this season. In addition Westbrook started out initially a turnover machine and shooting poorly. On top of that the Lakers defense has been horrible this season. They rank near the bottom in defensive efficiency in the league. The Lakers have an aging roster that looks as though they are looking towards the off season. Hopefully they can turn on the switch and once they  get Anthony Davis back from injury. They can hopefully hit the ground running and make up some ground and gain momentum.

The Brooklyn Nets have not been a complete team this entire season due to the NYC Vaccination mandate needed for Nets Players to play in home games. Kyrie Irving, a pivotal part of the Brooklyn Nets is not able to play in home games. With Kevin Durant having missed the last 21 games due to an MCL Sprain the Nets went 5-16 dropping from 2nd place in the Eastern Conference to 8th in the conference with just 1 game separating them and the 10th seed. Many believe that due to Irving’s vaccination status keeping him from playing home games it led to James Harden forcing his way out of Brooklyn to Philadelphia. Durant just returned on Thursday night but Ben Simmons and Irving did not play. Irving still cannot currently play in home games due to the NYC mandate. In addition Simmons is yet to get on the practice floor for the Nets. One thing is if the Nets meet the Toronto Raptors in the Play in or the Playoffs, currently Kyrie would not be able to play due to his vaccination status and in one game scenario anything can happen.

I believe the Nets and Lakers will both fall short of winning the Championship this season.

I can also see both teams losing in the first round if they manage to get past the Play In Tournament.