Kyrie Irving Not Ready for Contact; Has Missed 12 Games with Shoulder Injury

Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters Wednesday that point guard Kyrie Irving is not ready for contact.

Irving, 27, has missed 12 games since Nov. 16 with a right shoulder impingement. He has averaged 28.5 points, 7.2 assists and 5.4 rebounds in 11 contests for the Nets.

Atkinson did provide a more optimistic report on Sunday, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post.

"The plan is to continue to ramp up his individual on-court work, and from there it's starting to integrate him in the next week or two into team practices," Atkinson said. "Like I always say, that could be a planned practice or us making one up if the game schedule so dictates."

Irving arrived in Brooklyn last offseason via free agency following two years with the Boston Celtics. The ex-Duke Blue Devil exploded with 50 points in his debut against the Minnesota Timberwolves and was largely a dominant scorer during the opening portion of his Nets tenure.

The Nets have fared well in their past 12 games sans Irving, going 9-3 and vaulting up to seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings by virtue of their 13-10 mark.

Spencer Dinwiddie has been exceptional in Irving's place in the starting lineup, averaging 23.8 points on 43.6 percent shooting and 7.6 assists since Nov. 16. He's led the Nets on a three-game winning streak as they head into their matchup against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.

That isn't to say the Nets are better without Irving, who was a tremendous asset in the beginning of the season. Bringing the six-time All-Star back into the rotation should only make the Nets deeper and stronger as they look to continue their charge up the standings. The eventual return of Caris LeVert (16.8 points, 5.0 rebounds) from a torn right thumb ligaments will only help as well.