On Thursday, New York City mayor Eric Adams announced an exemption for unvaccinated athletes and performers, allowing Kyrie Irving to make his home debut at Barclays Center on Sunday.

Irving can now get back to regularly doing what he does best, but his standoff certainly came with a hefty price for both his wallet — around $16 million lost for 35 games — and for Brooklyn’s title hopes.

The Nets are 16-19 at home without Irving, and their 116.7 offensive rating on the road — which would top the NBA — dips to 108.8 at home.

• Irving’s worth his $35M annual salary when he plays: He’s averaging 28.5 PPG, and could be the third player to ever finish 50/40/90 in back-to-back seasons (Larry Bird, Steve Nash).
• He already passed up a four-year, $181 million extension this past offseason.
• Kyrie is eligible for a five-year, $235 million contract extension this summer.

The Nets opened the season as Finals favorites (+250*), and have only dropped one spot since (+450*) despite their underwhelming record (38-35).

At this point, Irving will only be vindicated if he leads the Nets to their first NBA championship — anything less will revive questions about failed chemistry and lost continuity. 

But if the playoffs started today, Irving wouldn’t be able to suit up for the first play-in game. Toronto — currently the 7-seed — still doesn’t allow unvaccinated opposing players to cross the border.

Flying under the radar in the post-lockout, big-name free-agent bonanza, the Phillies have suddenly stacked their lineup.

In the past week, Philadelphia added sluggers Kyle Schwarber (four years, $79 million) and Nick Castellanos (five years, $100 million) to complement 2021 NL MVP Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto in the middle of the order.

After struggling offensively in 2021, the Phils now have one of the most dangerous lineups in the National League East as they seek their first postseason appearance since 2011.

• Despite Harper’s campaign, Philadelphia ranked 18th in batting average (.240), 15th in HRs (198), and 14th in slugging (.408) and OPS (.726).
• Harper, Realmuto, Schwarber, and Castellanos combined for 118 HRs and 328 RBI with their respective teams last season.
• The Phillies have committed $624.5 million to those four contracts and are now fourth in payroll ($221.7M) behind the Dodgers, Mets, and Yankees.

The Phillies still need to improve their pitching beyond ace Zack Wheeler, but they did bolster their bullpen by signing closer Corey Knebel (1YR, $10M) deal in November.

Owner John Middleton can afford the spending spree. The Phillies are MLB’s seventh-most valuable franchise ($2.3B), per Forbes.

But as impressive as the lineup looks on paper, Philadelphia still has only the third-best odds (+380*) to win the NL East and the 12th-best (+2500*) to win its first World Series since 2008.

Something special is brewing in Toronto this season — thanks to elite special teams units.  

On Wednesday, the Maple Leafs scored two shorthanded goals in their 3-2 victory over the Devils. Their 40th win of the season vaulted them over the Lightning into second place in the Atlantic Division.

Loaded with offensive stars like Auston Matthews and Mitchell Marner, the Leafs’ power-play prowess could be the key to winning their first Stanley Cup title since 1967 — and the first for a Canadian team since the Canadiens in 1993.

• The Leafs rank first in power-play percentage (28.3) and fourth on the penalty kill (84.4).
• They’ve never finished top-five in the NHL in each category since special teams percentages were introduced in 1977-78.
• They lead the NHL with 10 shorthanded goals and are third in the conference with a plus-41 goal differential.

With 19 games to play, Matthews has already matched a career-high 80 points (46 goals, 34 assists), while Marner has tallied a career-best 27 goals.

Despite a modest $83.3 million payroll (18th in NHL), Toronto has paid for the firepower that produces 3.65 goals per game, the fourth-best mark in the league.

The Leafs have three of the top seven salary-cap hits in the league: Matthews ($11.6M, 3rd), John Tavares ($11M, 5th), and Marner ($10.9M, 7th).

The Original Six team has the fourth-best odds (+1200*) to win its elusive 14th Stanley Cup.