Why The Kyrie Irving News Is Bad For The Hornets

The Charlotte Hornets are red-hot as of late. Winning six of their last seven games, the Swarm have resurrected their playoff hopes and dreams. Heading into Sunday’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets, the Hornets are faced with their biggest game of the season.

One game behind Brooklyn in the Eastern Conference standings, the Swarm need a win in the most desperate way imaginable. With a win, their odds of attaining the eighth seed drastically improve. With a loss, they are virtually locked into another 9-10 seed game in the play-in tournament at the end of the season.

With so much riding on this game, the Hornets need all the help they can get. For the majority of this season, playing the Nets in Brooklyn has been the preferred place to play the East-favorites. Without access to Kyrie Irving, one of the scorers, playmakers, and maestros in the game, the Nets appear beatable. With Kyrie playing in road games exclusively due to the COVID-related mandates in New York, the Nets are next-to-unstoppable away from home.

Sunday’s meeting is in Brooklyn, which would be the perfect storm for the Hornets – the biggest game of the season and the opposing team’s second-best player is not playing.

Unfortunately, that is not what is happening on Sunday. With the recent vaccine mandate lifting in New York City, Kyrie is eligible to play in his first home game of the season. This comes at the perfect moment for Nets fans, and it also happens to be the exact wrong moment for Hornets fans.

While the Nets are certainly beatable, they are a significantly scarier team with Irving on the floor full-time. The Swarm will have their work cut out for them in this one. If LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, Miles Bridges, and company can slow down the two-headed monster of Irving and Kevin Durant, the eighth seed will be within striking distance with just seven games to play.

The whole season may come down to this one game. Hornets fans, are you ready?