‘I plan to sage every game if allowed’: Nets’ Kyrie Irving responds to questions about pre-game ritual against Celtics

Kyrie Irving was defiant about the pre-game saging routine he engaged, in prior to the Nets’ game against the Celtics at TD Garden.

The Nets battered the Celtics in their preseason game last night. After winning the first 3 quarters of the game convincingly, the starters spent nearly all of the 4th quarter on the bench. Kevin Durant, in particular, looked spry and showed no signs that he’d ever suffered an Achilles tear.

If these preseason games are any indication of the upcoming season, the Nets will be a factor in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. They will be buoyed by the performances all of their players have produced thus far.

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Kyrie caused a wave of hysteria around NBA Twitter when videos of him spreading sage smoke at the TD Arena emerged. His performance on the night, however, was no laughing matter, as he chipped in with 17 points and 5 assists.

Kyrie Irving responds to questions about pre-game saging routine

Far from being apologetic about what some view as an attention-seeking act, Kyrie doubled down:

“It comes from a lot of native tribes – the sage ritual. It’s not anything that I don’t do at home that I did today. And I plan to sage almost every game if the opposing team will allow me to.”

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The whole sage saga aside, with the time for competitive basketball coming around, the focus will squarely be on him and KD. The Nets have been looked at as the best team in the East ahead of the season. It is time to prove these assessments correct, whether or not Kyrie does his pre-game saging.