Three Things to Know: Kyrie Irving can play home games. That doesn’t make Nets favorites.

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Kyrie Irving got his wish — he will soon be able to play home games in Brooklyn.

Not because Irving did the mature thing and got vaccinated, but because New York Mayor Eric Adams will officially announce Thursday he’s exempting athletes and performers from the city’s vaccine mandate for private workers (but if you work in government and other jobs covered by the mandate, you still have to be vaccinated). Adams had echoed players like Kevin Durant, who had said the exemption for visiting players/performers made it unfair: unvaccinated players from other teams could play at the Barclays Center, but not Irving. Adams is changing that.

Now Irving can take the court for the Nets’ final nine games, plus playoff games (except any in Toronto, where he cannot travel because he is unvaccinated).

Are the Nets back to being title favorites?

No.

Without question the Nets just got much better and more dangerous with the Mayor’s move. Brooklyn just got a top-15 player in the world and its second-best player back for every game, not just half of them. They become a bigger playoff threat.

It’s not enough to make them favorites in the East, and Wednesday’s loss to the shorthanded Grizzlies is a reminder of why.

Irving scored 43 points on 15-of-27 shooting, with six 3-pointers and eight assists in Memphis.

Kevin Durant added 35 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists. Brooklyn scored 120 points and had an efficient 119.6 offensive rating for the game. With those two stars on the floor, Brooklyn will be an