A critical player for his team is expected to make his return Tuesday night, but it’s not the one everyone is talking about.
Kyrie Irving will not make his return from a team suspension on Tuesday in Sacramento, the Nets announced Monday night. That will make seven games Irving will have missed with no return timeline set.
Irving was suspended following a Tweet promoting an antisemitic movie, followed it up by being defensive, not apologizing, and not (at first) seeming to grasp the gravity of his offense. Irving apologized in an Instagram post (right after he was suspended), then last week met with both NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Nets’ owner Joe Tsai and his wife.
Asked #Nets owner Joe Tsai if Kyrie Irving would be back on this road trip: "He still has work to do." #NBA
— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) November 12, 2022
There has been considerable frustration and pushback from the players’ union – and individual players such as LeBron James — about the six “remedial” steps the Nets and Tsai laid out for Irving to return. This situation could get messier as the week goes along.
There is good news coming out of Memphis: Jaren Jackson Jr. may make his return Tuesday night.
Jackson is officially listed as questionable for Tuesday in New Orleans, but Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report says to expect him to play.
Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (foot) intends to make his season debut Tuesday night against New Orleans Pelicans on TNT, league sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) November 15, 2022
Jackson has been recovering from off-season foot surgery. He is the defensive anchor in the paint for the Grizzlies and finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting last season.
The Grizzlies have missed his rim protection dearly this season, with their fourth-in-the-league defense a season ago falling to 14th this season without him in the paint. The Grizzlies are 9-5 this season and are about to get much better.