Struggling Nets will get Kyrie Irving back versus Wizards

WASHINGTON — The Nets will drag the NBA’s longest losing streak — nine consecutive games — into their game against the Wizards on Thursday night. With the skid, the Nets have fallen from first in the Eastern Conference all the way to eighth place — and into position for the dreaded postseason play-in.

It’s the Nets’ worst skid since they lost 16 in a row from Jan. 21-Feb. 25, 2017, and it has come largely while they play with a decimated roster. The Nets, while missing arguably their top six players coming out of camp, were blown out Tuesday by the Celtics at Barclays Center. They might, however, get a couple of those players back against the Wizards.

While James Harden will sit out a third straight game Thursday with a tight left hamstring, Kyrie Irving (who is unvaccinated against COVID-19 and ineligible to play at home), will be able to face the Wizards. The same way New York City mandates don’t apply to visiting players, Washington mandates won’t impact Irving.

Nets center Nic Claxton, who has been sidelined by his own hamstring injury, was upgraded to questionable. He has missed the past two games after being forced off the court last Friday at Utah.

“He’s trying to … I think a big part for Nic is more so the confidence than the strength, and so I think that’s where he’s at,” Nets coach Steve Nash said. “I think he has an awareness and I think it’s just a matter of him either getting his strength to a position where he overcomes the fear of the awareness and is able to play through it.”

Center LaMarcus Aldridge (left ankle sprain), Kevin Durant (left MCL sprain) and Joe Harris (left ankle surgery) are still out. The Nets continue to try to find a trade destination for power forward Paul Millsap; somewhere the veteran can play. The Lakers have emerged as a possibility, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The Wizards announced Wednesday that star guard Bradley Beal will need surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist and will miss the end of the season.

Patty Mills was selected to the 3-point contest at All-Star Weekend. The Nets guard from Australia is the only player in the NBA ranked in the top 10 in both 3-pointers made and 3-point shooting percentage.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday that the state will end mandates requiring face coverings in most indoor public settings. It’s no guarantee that New York City’s vaccine mandates, which prevent Irving from playing at home, will be loosened, but it might bring him one tiny step closer to playing.

Expect the Nets to keep a close eye on Serge Ibaka. They recruited him hard in 2020, and if he’s bought out by the Clippers, expect them to have interest in the veteran big man. Ibaka was a teammate of Durant’s in Oklahoma City.