Sources: Kyrie expected to return to Nets Sunday
Kyrie Irving is expected to make his return to the Brooklyn Nets lineup Sunday against the Atlanta Hawks, league sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Irving has been out since mid-November with a right shoulder injury. He recently returned to 5-on-5 workouts in practice and is preparing for his return Sunday in Brooklyn.
The Nets, who have gone 13-13 without Irving in the lineup, are listing him as probable for Sunday’s game.
On Thursday, Irving said that he had assigned a self-imposed deadline of one week for his return.
“Hopefully I get some game reps in addition to practice probably in the next week or so,” he said. “It could be less than that, but I’ll give myself a week.”
Irving was able to fully participate in practice for the first time Thursday morning, including working through 5-on-5 contact drills. Coach Kenny Atkinson said Irving played with both the starting group and the second unit.
Irving said a week and a half ago that he began to do 2-on-2 work with coaches and has slowly ramped up his workload. Irving said he has no limitations “other than just keeping my shoulder maintenance program going before I get on the floor.”
Information from ESPN’s Malika Andrews was used in this report.