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Brooklyn Nets: Kyrie Irving’s absence could help James Harden build better MVP case

ByJerry Trotta|
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - FEBRUARY 06: James Harden #13 of the Brooklyn Nets warms up before playing against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on February 06, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - FEBRUARY 06: James Harden #13 of the Brooklyn Nets warms up before playing against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on February 06, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

The Brooklyn Nets returned to the winning side of things on Sunday night, defeating Washington behind lights out performances from James Harden and Kyrie Irving, though they were slightly overshadowed by Blake Griffin dunking for the first time since 2019 in his debut.

The Nets’ continued dominance without Kevin Durant has been nothing short of astonishing, as they’ve won 15 of their last 17 contests. The rest of the roster remaining healthy has played a huge role in Brooklyn being able to overcome Durant’s extended absence, but their luck might finally be running out.

For starters, spot-up shooter Landry Shamet, who was ruled out for the rest of Sunday’s game after limping to the locker room in the third quarter with a right ankle sprain, won’t be traveling with the team for its upcoming three-game road trip to undergo further testing.

Shortly after that news was confirmed, it was reported that Irving also won’t be accompanying his teammates for the west coast trip. Per several insiders, the All-Star point guard is staying behind to attend to an undisclosed family matter.

In other words, Harden’s already-demanding workload will increase ten-fold for these next three games, providing him with a tremendous opportunity to further bolster his MVP case.

Kyrie Irving’s unexpected absence could help Nets star James Harden strengthen his MVP case.

First and foremost, our thoughts are with Irving and his family, and we hope his leave of absence doesn’t entail anything serious. Hopefully, he’ll rejoin the Nets after the road trip.

Getting back to Harden, the stars have slowly started to align for his unprecedented MVP run. Just in the last few weeks, 76ers star Joel Embiid, who has long been considered the frontrunner for the award, suffered a bone bruise in his left knee and will miss at least a few weeks of action.

Fast forward to this past weekend, and Lakers star LeBron James, who was neck-and-neck with Embiid in the MVP race in the eyes of most voters, went down with what was diagnosed as a high ankle sprain and is projected to miss at least the next month.

Just 48 hours later, Irving is forced to attend to a family matter. Meanwhile, Harden and the Nets head west for a daunting back-to-back slate against the Blazers and Jazz, who currently rank first and sixth in the loaded Western Conference, respectively, before they put a bow on the trip vs the Pistons on Friday.

Detroit is the epitome of a pushover team, but that’ll be Brooklyn’s third game in four days. If you account for that and all the required travel in between, Harden really has a perfect opportunity to ascend up the MVP leaderboard this week.

Who knows, if the Nets go 3-0 on this trip without Irving, pundits and analysts might have no other choice but to tab it Harden’s race to lose. After all, he’s averaged an impossible 25.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 11.3 assists with .444/.373/.861 shooting splits in 29 games since coming over from the Rockets two months ago.