Kyrie Irving has had to man the offensive end of the floor for the Brooklyn Nets as its sole superstar since January 12th. With Kevin Durant suffering an MCL sprain yet again, the Nets have been middling and not looking like a team that had just gone 18-2 over the course of 20 games, the best 20-game stretch in franchise history.
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The first game the Nets played without KD was against the Boston Celtics on January 12th, which they lost 109-98. Tonight’s game against the Celts was a bit different as it felt as though the outcome had already been decided by the end of the first quarter as Nets trailed 46-16 following the first 12 minutes.
Tatum alone had scored 18 points in the first quarter and from then on out, the entirety of the game was played in garbage minutes. Or at least it seemed like it was. The Nets never once won a quarter tonight and couldn’t put together a single stretch of a competent offense.
Kyrie Irving on what the Nets have to do
Kyrie Irving has quite the complicated history with the Boston Celtics but at the end of the day, he understands just how talented of a team they are and respects them for it. So, in tonight’s postgame availability, he would go on to say that the Brooklyn Nets just need to be better than they are.
“It’s clear they want to win the championship & they’re not wasting any time in the regular season. We were just one of those teams in the way, and we just can’t be one of those teams in the way. We’ve got to be one of those teams that stands up to them,” said Irving.
The Celtics are currently 37-15 and are the first seed in the Eastern Conference. The Nets are the 4th seed with a 31-20 record and will have one last chance to prove themselves against the Celts this season as they have a matchup against them on March 3rd.
Kyrie Irving and the Celtics
Kyrie Irving is 1-8 against the Boston Celtics ever since he purposefully stepped foot on their logo during a game as a sign of disrespect. He has a strained relationship with the team’s fans due to his two years with them, with him leaving the team after promising to re-sign in 2019.
Prior to today’s game, fans were seen taking turns stepping on his jersey outside of the arena. While this is incredibly disrespectful as Kyrie’s family name is on the back of those jerseys, some would say the actions are warranted.
