Despite Kyrie Irving's long absence this season and inability to play in home games, the Brooklyn Nets remain one of the favourite teams to win championships throughout the season, and now due to changes in local epidemic policies in New York, Irving will soon be able to participate in the next home games, which will completely change the pattern of the East and the entire league.
New York is expected to officially eliminate the private sector's in-house vaccination requirement today, and unvaccinated players will also be eligible for home games, paving the way for Irving to become a full-time netting player for the Nets before the playoffs, a decision that should be brought to the attention of the rest of the league. Because Irving's importance to the Nets offense is obvious, and the stats reflect that, with Carey on the court, the Nets score 9.2 points per 100 possessions, and basically with Irving, the Nets will be the best offensive team in the league.
Let's look at the Nets' home and road record comparisons
Home: Offense rating 108.9 (league 26th), defensive rating 111.9 (league 22nd), net rating -3 (league 25th)
Away: Offense rating 116.7 (League 1st), Defensive Rating 112.7 (League 19th), Net Rating +3.9 (League 3rd)
Why are the Nets far less than the home games? No doubt because Irving was able to play away games, and this is the data after Irving's long absence from the away game. In March in particular, Irving did a great job, averaging 38.8 points, 5.8 assists and 3 rebounds per game, shooting 58.9 percent from the field and 57.7 percent from three-point range. Irving's last four games have been even hotter, averaging 43.8 points per game, shooting 61.7 percent from the field, shooting 60.9 percent from three-point range (averaging 11.5 three-pointers per game) and shooting 80 percent from the free throw line, which we'll see at home next week.
According to the NBA official currently given the probability of winning the championship, the Nets are still the second most popular team to win the 2022 NBA championship after the Phoenix Suns, and this is still the probability of winning the championship before Irving is allowed to play home games, and now he will be allowed to play in the home games of the regular season and playoffs in the final two weeks of the season, and they may become the most dangerous team in the league.
But the prerequisite for everything is that the Nets have to secure a playoff ticket first, and their current playoff path is still unresolved, and they are only eighth in the East, and they are likely to have to pass the playoffs to qualify for the playoffs. As things stand, the Nets are 2.5 wins behind the Toronto Raptors, seventh in the East, which is a very disadvantageous thing, because if the playoffs are played according to the current ranking, then this playoff will be held in Toronto, the raptors' home stadium, according to the local epidemic policy requirements, Irving without vaccination will not be able to play, and then the loser of that game will face the winner between the 9th and 10th in the East at home, when Irving will be able to participate in this life-and-death battle.
If the Nets make it to the playoffs, they will face one of the four teams in the first round of the playoffs: miami heat, Milwaukee bucks, Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers, and these teams are in cities without epidemic restrictions, so Irving can play all home and away games, considering Irving's current state and the rest time he has been given, presumably no team in the East will want to meet the Nets in the first round. Even if Ben Simmons hasn't made his Nets debut, the twin star combination of Kevin Durant and Irving is strong enough to give the Nets a championship.