More bad news on the injury front for Brooklyn Nets star guard Kyrie Irving.
The Athletic's Shams Charania reported earlier in the day that Irving will 'likely' undergo a procedure on his injured right shoulder and the expectation is that he could miss the remainder of the season.
In his most recent update, via the Nets organization, it has been confirmed that Irving will miss the rest of the 2019-20 season.
Nets make official that Kyrie Irving will undergo season-ending surgery on shoulder. https://t.co/dfjCsEERAR
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 20, 2020
Because of this nagging shoulder injury, Irving only appeared in 20 games in his first season as a member of the Nets. He was exceptional in the games he was been able to take the floor, averaging 27.4 points, 6.4 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, shooting 47.8% from the field 39.4% from 3 and a league-leading 92.2% from the free throw line.
This Brooklyn team had grown accustomed to playing without Irving, going 17-16 (.515) in games without the six-time All-Star. In the 20 games that Irving played, the Nets went 8-12 (.400) for a total record of 25-28, currently sitting as the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference.
From the beginning of the 2019-20 season, it had been a transitional year for Brooklyn with star forward Kevin Durant expected to miss the entire season recovering from an Achilles injury suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals.
Now with Irving out for the remainder of the year, it will be up to Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert, Joe Harris and co. to keep this team competitive and in the playoff picture in the East.
Dinwiddie has been a great replacement starter so far this season, averaging career-highs across the board with 21.0 points, 6.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game.
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