What Kyrie Irving’s Reported Home Eligibility Could Mean For Celtics

Nets star Kyrie Irving reportedly will be granted the eligibility to play in Brooklyn following a change in COVID-19 restrictions that have prohibited the guard from playing home games this season.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Wednesday that Irving will be able to make his home debut Sunday against the Charlotte Hornets. The new New York City exemption for in-town athletes and performers — which also benefits the Mets and Yankees — will be put into place Thursday, according to Charania.

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ESPN has reported that Irving could be on the court as soon as next week.

That development indicates that Irving now will be able to play for the Nets in Brooklyn during the postseason, which isn’t great for the rest of the NBA, including the Boston Celtics. The Nets would, rather obviously, become a tougher opponent with Kevin Durant and Irving eligible to play every game in a playoff series. It remains true for the Celtics, too, despite the fact Jayson Tatum and company just defeated Brooklyn in Boston earlier this month.

Irving has been limited to merely 19 games during the 2021-22 campaign, but has been impactful in those 19 contests. He’s averaged 27.7 points and 5.3 assists on 49% shooting during the span.

Irving, if Charania’s timeline is accurate, now will be able to play the final eight games of the regular season for the No. 8 Nets. Brooklyn, however, is only two games out of the No. 7 seed and three games out of the No. 6 seed. It’s also worth noting how the difference between No. 7 and No. 8 seeds are somewhat meaningless given that those two teams will play each other in a play-in tournament for the right to officially claim the No. 7 seed. The Nets would play the Toronto Raptors in that game if the playoffs started Wednesday.

The Celtics currently are in a tie for the No. 3 seed with the Philadelphia 76ers possessing the tiebreaker. Boston also is just a half game back of the No. 2 Milwaukee Bucks and 2.5 games back of the top-seeded Miami Heat. The crowded Eastern Conference elicits a chance where the Celtics could be playing Irving, Durant and the Nets in the first round of the postseason with a win then earning them a chance to play the Bucks in the semifinals. Not great.

Both Boston’s and Brooklyn’s regular-season finales are set for April 10 with the drama likely unfolding until then.