Protestors rally behind Kyrie Irving against NYC vaccine mandate

Protestors rallied outside Barclays Center on Friday in support of Kyrie Irving. While it’s uncertain if any more demonstrations are planned when the Nets play host to the Jazz on Monday, or in the immediate future, it’s clear the situation continues to be divisive. The protestors held signs that read “Wake Up New York” and “Brooklyn Loves Kyrie.” Others ripped up Nets tickets along with photos of Mayor Eric Adams, angered that he hasn’t repealed private sector vaccine mandates that bar the All-Star from playing home games. Adams hasn’t offered any timetable and city health commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan was equally vague Friday. “I think it’s indefinite at this point,” Dr. Vasan said. “People who’ve tried to predict what’s going to happen in the future for this pandemic have repeatedly found egg on their face, as they say. I’m not going to do that here.”
Source: Brian Lewis @ New York Post

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Frank Isola @TheFrankIsola
New Jersey hoop rankings:
1. St. Peter’s. 2. Karl Anthony Towns. 3. Kyrie. 4. Camden High School. – 10:51 PM

Sirius XM NBA @SiriusXMNBA
Kyrie Irving dropped 60 points in the Nets’ win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night.
@Grady tells @Rick Kamla and @adaniels33 he’s never seen anyone quite like Kyrie. #NetsWorld pic.twitter.com/SRCd2FNF1A – 8:49 PM

Matt Williams @StatsWilliams
Kevin Durant has played 7 games this season without Kyrie Irving or James Harden. In those games, he has averaged:
37.7 points
50% FG
8.1 assists
The Nets are 5-2 in those games. – 9:45 AM

Kristian Winfield @Krisplashed
Kevin Durant got the help he didn’t have against Dallas: No, not Kyrie Irving, but sharpshooter Seth Curry, who returned from an ankle injury to pepper the Trail Blazers with a barrage of 3s.
This + a standings check and tiebreaker scenarios w/CLE & TOR:
nydailynews.com/sports/basketb… – 10:44 PM

Dave Early @DavidEarly
Steve Nash was asked if there’s an emotional let down when Kyrie Irving isn’t in the lineup. Said he thinks it’s more of a talent deficit than emotional let down. – 10:19 PM

Kristian Winfield @Krisplashed
Evidence that the mandates are backwards: The ball bounced into the crowd, and a fan threw it to Bruce Brown, who inbounded the ball. That fan is not required to show proof of vaccination. But Kyrie, who has to pass COVID tests every day to be eligible, can’t play. – 9:44 PM

Bobby Marks @BobbyMarks42
A 75 point first half by the retooling Trail Blazers in Brooklyn.
We can talk all about the 50 and 60 point Kyrie Irving games on the road but it will not mean anything if the Nets can’t win home games. – 8:37 PM

Nick Friedell @NickFriedell
Chauncey: “It’s just so crazy how they’re like two different teams, when [Kyrie] plays and when he doesn’t. Both teams real dang good, but if they can ever line it up when both dudes are playing and playing at a high level, it’s going to be very scary. Especially when Ben plays” – 6:37 PM

Vincent Goodwill @VinceGoodwill
Kyrie Irving popped up at Barclays over the weekend. @Chris Haynes thinks it’s a farce. I think if he’s standing on principle, be willing to accept the consequences pic.twitter.com/dzV1pwncnj – 6:18 PM

Kristian Winfield @Krisplashed
Broke a lot of what we know about the Kyrie Irving situation down with @netw3rk on his show ALL CAPS
Full episode: https://t.co/ntsA0WV5GD pic.twitter.com/mRJ9g9UTMl – 1:48 PM

Stefan Bondy @SBondyNYDN
Between Karl Anthony Towns, Kyrie Irving and Shaheen Holloway it’s been a good week for New Jersey basketball – 10:35 PM

StatMuse @statmuse
The Orlando Magic defense have allowed 111 points to Kyrie Irving and Saddiq Bey in the last 2 games. pic.twitter.com/29H1ySLMTc – 9:49 PM

Lang Greene @LangGreene
Guys like Kyrie Irving … Hope you’re enjoying the goodness while you can. Those kind of dudes don’t hang around long … they eventually leave unexpectedly like Barry, Megatron, Bjorn, Luck, Jim Brown, etc. – 9:46 PM

StatMuse @statmuse
Just this past week:
50 — LeBron James
53 — Kevin Durant
60 — Karl-Anthony Towns
60 — Kyrie Irving
51 — Saddiq Bey
FIVE 50-piece in SEVEN days. pic.twitter.com/IYcFqHZ1ZE – 9:45 PM

J. Michael Falgoust @ThisIsJMichael
No disrespect to Saddiq Bey, but he just dropped 51. Totally devalues the 60 Kyrie dropped at Amway the other night. #MagicPistons 🤷🏾‍♂️ – 9:38 PM

David Baumann @DavidBaumannORL
The @Orlando Magic gave up 60 to Kyrie on Tuesday.
51 to Saddiq Bey tonight.
SGA has a chance to go for 100 on Sunday v Orlando. – 9:33 PM

Michael Gallagher @MikeSGallagher
Before the March 15 games, the Magic had the No. 1 post-break defense in the league.
In the two games since then, Kyrie Irving dropped 60 and Saddiq Bey dropped 51 on the Magic. – 9:33 PM

Tommy Beer @TommyBeer
Add Saddiq Bey to the growing list…
Over the last two weeks in the NBA we’ve had:
Six 50-point games (LeBron James 2x, Jayson Tatum, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Bey)
And two 60-point games over the last two days (Karl-Anthony Towns and Kyrie) – 9:30 PM

Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
Saddiq Bey with 49 10 boards and 10 3s
Kyrie Irving one thing, but damn Orlando! – 9:21 PM

Khobi Price @khobi_price
The spirit of Kyrie Irving must’ve taken over Saddiq Bey tonight.
Bey has 25 points with over 4 minutes left in the 2Q. – 7:59 PM

Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Nets status report for Friday vs. Portland: Curry (left ankle soreness) – QUESTIONABLE
Aldridge (right hip impingement) – OUT
Duke Jr. (G League – two-way) – OUT
Harris (left ankle surgery) – OUT
Simmons (return to competition reconditioning/back soreness) – OUT
Irving – OUT – 5:41 PM

Dave Early @DavidEarly
Per Nets
– 3/18 vs. Portland:
Curry (left ankle soreness) – QUESTIONABLE
Aldridge (right hip impingement) – OUT
Simmons (return to competition reconditioning/back soreness) – OUT
Irving – OUT – 5:40 PM

Greg Dickerson @gregdickerson13
NYC braces for St. Patrick’s Day without COVID restrictions: ‘Green vomit all the way!’ nypost.com/2022/03/17/st-… via @nypost
Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing kyrie get screwed, but u can pack bars w hundreds, but an un vax guy can’t play in a basketball game? I don’t get it – 10:27 AM

Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
From last night’s game, it was point guard day for the Nets. Ben Simmons had an epidural, Goran Dragic came into his own, Kyrie Irving didn’t attend and Spencer Dinwiddie reminded his old team of what they could have had: theathletic.com/3191584/2022/0… – 10:20 AM

More on this storyline

Nick Friedell: Kyrie says he’s still confident that the vaccine mandate in NYC will get rolled back and he’ll be able to play at Barclays this season. He also says he plans to attend tomorrow’s game — and jokes he’ll wear a media pass. -via Twitter @NickFriedell / March 16, 2022

Nick Friedell: KD “Me and Kyrie had conversations about the vaccine and what it meant to him, meant to me. At the end of the day I didn’t think it was my decision on what he wanted to do with the vaccine. I gave him how I felt about it and we talked about it, but that’s ultimately his decision” -via Twitter @NickFriedell / March 16, 2022

Nick Friedell: KD says he doesn’t believe Kyrie deserves any extra criticism this season for making the decision he made not to get the vaccination. -via Twitter @NickFriedell / March 16, 2022