Steve Nash says Kyrie Irving 'excited' about possibility of playing in all of Brooklyn Nets' games

NEW YORK — As the Brooklyn Nets continue to wait and hope that the New York City vaccination mandate gets lifted and Kyrie Irving is able to play in home games again, Nets coach Steve Nash sees a renewed sense of optimism from the 29-year-old guard that a resolution may be coming in the next few weeks.

«I will say that he's been extremely locked in,» Nash said after Wednesday's practice. «Kyrie's been great on the practice floor. He's been great in film sessions. He's been creating dialogue over aspects of our play. So I sense a real focus and urgency from him. And so if that's any indication, I would say he is getting excited at the prospect of being allowed to play in all our games and hopefully in the short term.»

Nash's comments come in the wake of New York CIty Mayor Eric Adams saying earlier Wednesday that he was optimistic that a vaccination mandate would eventually be phased out — much the same way the restrictions have started to change in other cities across America — which would allow unvaccinated workers, like Irving, to go back to working without any restrictions.

«I can't wait to get it done,» Adams told reporters on Wednesday, when asked if New York City was going to start phasing out vaccination restrictions like Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. «I take my hat off to New Yorkers, through masks, vaccines, through social distancing, we were hit with the uncertainty, the fear of COVID. I'm really proud of how we responded as New Yorkers. And every morning I meet with my health professionals. Because I always stated I'm going to follow the science. I'm not going to get ahead of the science because I'm ready to get ahead of all of this and get back to a level of normalcy.

»But they're giving us clear