BOSTON – Celtics fans didn’t just get to see their team win a title Monday night, but they also got to see them send Kyrie Irving home in the NBA Finals. Irving– who is the number 1 bad guy in Boston – and the Mavericks went 0-3 at TD Garden in the championship round.
It’s been five years since Irving spurned the Celtics and left via free agency, but fans remain extremely miffed with the talented but mercurial guard. Aside from lackluster play on the field, Irving did little to repair his image with Boston fans during the series. He said he was not impressed by the Boston crowd in the first gamethen I talked about the Celtic “cult” the day before Game 5.
Visit to the Boston Bench
Celtics fans had the last laugh, however, as the team won the franchise’s 18th title at the expense of Irving and his Mavs. Before leaving the court late in Boston’s 108-66 victory Monday night, Irving stopped by the Boston bench to congratulate the Celtics on their impending victory. It caught some off guard, including head coach Joe Mazzulla, but many Celtics remain close to their former teammate.
After the loss, Irving said his trip to Boston’s bench was a way to show the Celtics some respect for the journey they’re on toward an NBA title. He pretty much said they became the perfect team in their playoff run.
“It was emotional anyway. I mean, every series was emotional, just because I didn’t know how it was going to go and how we were going to respond to a little bit of adversity. We finally met a team where they We were fair and square, and we weren’t able to answer a lot of their runs and we weren’t able to execute at a high level. So when I shook hands with everyone. world, it was more of a sign of respect for them travel,” he said.
“They’ve been through an incredible five years of going to Game 7 or losing in the final, so they know what that bitter feeling feels like to be here answering questions about what next year has in store for them and I think they used everything as motivation.
“They came together as a team.”
“They were healthy, they really kept their heads down and didn’t pay attention to personal or individual distinctions. I think they just came together as a team and were OK with each person being great in their role and selflessly do their best,” he added. “So I think we’ve learned more than anything from this series about not only getting back to that level, but winning at that level, and the Celtics are the perfect example for us this season because of everything what they have had to deal with in recent years.
Irving’s departure could have left the Celtics organization in shambles, but the franchise instead focused on developing Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and surrounding their young talent with complementary pieces. It all paid off Monday night, and Irving praised his former teammates for their growth and ability to block out all outside noise while aiming to win a championship.
Irving on Brown and Tatum
“It’s admirable, you know, and to see — is (Jaylen Brown) wins Finals MVP? Yeah, it was great to see that trophy in his hands. I think him and JT should have gone their separate ways, but those two guys in particular have, you know, almost been like students and have now become teachers in their own right,” he said of Tatum and Brown “So to see them accomplish — to see them accomplish that, I’m really proud and also extremely motivated to come back to this position in the next few years with my guys and be able to win this thing. »
The Celtics defense made it extremely difficult for Irving throughout the NBA Finals. He averaged just 19.8 points per game, a figure inflated by his 35-point effort in Game 3 when he fled Boston as the series shifted to Dallas. But the Mavs were in an 0-2 hole at that point after Irving scored just 28 points in the first two games, and he had just 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting in Game 5 . For the series, Irving pulled a terrible shot. 27.6 percent from three-point range.
This was Irving’s first full season in Dallas, and he hopes the Mavs can become a team like the one they just lost to in the Finals.
Looking to the future
“I mean, basketball is a game of centimeters, man, sometimes inches, so when a ball flies out of your hands, sometimes it’s going to feel good, sometimes it’s not. That’s the aspect of the maturity,” he said after Game 5. “You have to move on, and I’ve talked about that. Whether I’m playing well score-wise or not, there’s a team aspect here that makes us become more solidified or composed.
“I can score 25 points, but if I don’t, we have to be able to get back up, and I think that’s what we’re learning from each other now, where it’s going to be games where shooting doesn’t matter. isn’t going to go well, especially for me or anyone else on the team, and that’s where we need to galvanize as a group and have the other players create plays and opportunities for each other. the others. I was at the point of attack for most of my practices against the Celtics one-on-one or off-screen,” he said. “So that’s what the summer is about, is just continuing to work on the things that I’ve seen this year, the physicality, being able to adapt to it and be in a better position l ‘next year.”
He remains “very confident” in Dallas and believes they will be back in the title race next season.
“I see an opportunity for us to really build our future in a positive way, where it’s almost a regular thing for us, and we compete for championships. You know, I think from a spiritual standpoint, I think that I enjoyed this journey more than any other season, simply because of the redemption arc and being able to learn as much as I did about myself, my teammates, the organization and the people around me. There are a lot of good people here, so it feels good, it’s a lot of fun to come to work,” he said.
Boston fans will always have some contempt for Irving for the way things ended between him and the Celtics and for his antics at TD Garden during his years with the Brooklyn Nets. But Irving’s departure from the franchise allowed Tatum and Brown to become the champions they are today, and it’s clear that his departure was a blessing in disguise.