Is Kyrie Irving playing tonight vs Toronto Raptors? Nets release availability report ahead of matchup against Fred VanVleet and co.

Nets’ star Kyrie Irving would not suit up tonight as the Brooklyn Nets visit the Toronto Raptors at the Scotiabank Arena

The Brooklyn Nets fly to Toronto to take on the Raptors tonight. After facing a humiliating 133-97 defeat at the hands of the Raptors back home, the Nets would like to take their revenge on the road. Since last night was a home game, Kyrie Irving couldn’t play, and the Raptors took full advantage of the fact.

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Raptors’ rookie Scottie Barnes went off against the Nets. He scored 28 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, had 4 assists and 5 steals. For the Nets, Steve Nash saw what was happening, and decided to bench his starters early. None of the starters had more than 23 minutes played. LeMarcus Aldridge and Cam Thomas scored 15 and 14 points off the bench respectively. Other than that, the Nets didn’t have many positives to take from this contest.

Kyrie Irving would not play tonight against the Toronto Raptors

Since the Nets are on the road tonight, Kyrie Irving should have been able to suit up. However, due to his vaccination status, Kyrie cannot enter Canada. Hence, he is not going to be able to suit up against the Raptors. In the last game Kyrie played, he put up a season-high 38 points and took down the defending champions on their home ground.

Kyrie Irving tonight:

38 PTS
5 REB
5 AST
14-26 FG

W in Milwaukee without Durant or Simmons. pic.twitter.com/s1FnKmKm7p

— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 27, 2022

There was brief hope for a minute for Kyrie Irving finally getting clearance to suit up at home games, with the New York City vaccine mandate getting removed. However, the Private Sector mandate prohibits Kyrie from suiting up for the Nets unless he’s vaccinated. The New York mayor talked about the same recently, saying he can’t make an exception for a single player.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he wants to see Kyrie Irving play at Barclays but said making an exception for him as he’s unvaccinated “would send the wrong message” to the rest of the city.

More ➡️ https://t.co/9AI5rmn3Y5 pic.twitter.com/5crOle0y9U

— ESPN (@espn) February 28, 2022

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Well, I guess the Nets would have to work out some other way if they want their star to suit up for them at home, in the regular season, and then the subsequent playoffs.