Kyrie Irving Vaccine Refusal boosts NY Knicks in Eastern Conference Race
Is Kyrie Irving disrupting the chemistry on the Brooklyn Nets?
Last year the Knicks finished 4th in the East behind the NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers and the Brooklyn Nets.
One of those reasons is due to Nets’ all-star point guard Kyrie Irving who was indeed vital to Brooklyn making it to game seven in the second round last season (despite only playing one game in that series).
In his career as a Brooklyn Net, Irving has averaged 32 points and over 5 assists in 3 games against the Knicks.
All during contests that came down to the final buzzer.
It’s as clear as day that Kyrie always looks forward to games against the orange and blue and playing 4 games against the Nets without him on the floor could really make a big difference.
According to the NY Post, Brooklyn was expected to lead the NBA in wins with a fully healthy lineup.
Subtract one all-star and that total will without a doubt descend.
Nets teammates have come out to defend Kyrie saying they support whatever decision he makes and that they expect him to be vaccinated and ready to go for the season.
Despite this claim, I cannot see Irving’s self-entitlement not getting the best of him in this scenario.
According to multiple sources including Yahoo sports, Kyrie has been spreading COVID conspiracy theories online and has been leading a group to go against the mandate on vaccines being implemented by specific cities.
To top it all off, on Zoom at media day, Irving emphasized that he “didn’t want to create any distractions.”
This may be news to him, but this is all nothing but a distraction.
When you look at the Knicks, they haven’t brought up one controversial point and have said many times that they just want to be available and there for their teammates.
That is the mindset that gets you far not only off the court but in the standings as well.
As long as Kyrie Irving is spending his time creating excuses to not be on the floor, the Knicks are only going to benefit from it.