The Brooklyn Nets are heading out on a road trip having won 15 of their last 17 games. Their trek will take place without their star point guard, Kyrie Irving, as he is staying behind to tend to a family matter, the Nets announced Tuesday (PHT).
The Nets visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday, the Utah Jazz on Wednesday and the Detroit Pistons on Friday. Irving has appeared in 31 of the Nets’ 43 games, averaging 28.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists for Brooklyn, which is 1 game behind the Philadelphia 76ers for No. 1 in the East.
At the start of the season, Irving missed seven games as he took a leave of absence before coming back to play with Brooklyn on Jan. 20 vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was fined $50,000 for violating the NBA’s health and safety protocols after he was seen in a video posted on social media during his absence at an indoor family party while not wearing a mask. He also lost nearly $900,000 of his $33.5 million salary because two of the games he missed were during a mandated quarantine period.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
The All-Star guard will not play against the Blazers, Jazz or Pistons this week.
