BOSTON — Celtics fans not only got to see their team Winning the title on Monday nightBut he also got to see him send Kyrie Irving home in the NBA Finals. Irving — Who is villain number 1 in Boston? – And the Mavericks lost 0-3 at TD Garden during the championship round.
It’s been five years since Irving spurned the Celtics and left via free agency, but fans remain bitterly upset with the talented but mercurial guard. Aside from some lackluster play on the field, Irving did little to improve his image with Boston fans during the series. He said he Wasn’t impressed with Boston crowd in Game 1and then talked The Celtics “Creed” The day before Game 5.
Visiting the Boston Bench
However, Celtics fans got the last laugh, as the team won the franchise’s 18th title at the expense of Irving and his Mavs. Before leaving the field late in Boston’s 108-66 title win on Monday night, Irving stopped by the Boston bench to congratulate the Celtics on their impending victory. It surprised some, including head coach Joe Mazzulla, but many on the Celtics are still close with their former teammate.
After the loss, Irving said his visit to the Boston bench was a way to show the Celtics some respect for their journey to the NBA title. He said they became a perfect team during their postseason run.
“It was emotional anyway. I mean, every series is emotional, because I was unsure how it was going to go and how we would respond to a bit of adversity. We eventually came up against a team that completely outplayed us, and we couldn’t respond to a lot of their runs and we couldn’t perform at a high level. So when I was shaking hands with everyone, it was a sign of respect for their journey,” he said.
“They’ve been through an unbelievable five-year span of going to a Game 7 or losing in the Finals, so they know what that bittersweet feeling is like when they’re here answering questions about next year and I think they used everything as motivation.
“They came together as a team”
“They were healthy, and they really kept their heads down and didn’t pay attention to any individual accolades or individual accolades. I think they came together as a team and everybody had no problem being great in their role and doing their best unselfishly,” he said. “So I think we learned from this series more than anything what it takes to not only get back to this level, but to win at this level, and the Celtics are a perfect example for us this season because they’ve been through a lot the last couple of years.”
Irving’s departure could have caused upheaval in the Celtics organization, but instead the franchise focused on developing Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and surrounding its young talent with complementary players. It all paid off on Monday night, and Irving praised his former teammates, who praised him for his ability to block out all the outside noise while focusing on his development and winning championships.
Irving on Brown and Tatum
“It’s admirable, you know, and to see – what (Jaylen Brown) won the Finals MVP?Yeah, it was a huge thing to see the trophy in their hands. I think him and JT should have shared it, but those two guys in particular, you know, have almost been like students and at the same time have become teachers in their own right now,” he said of Tatum and Brown. “So to see them succeed — to see them succeed, I’m really proud and also extremely motivated to be able to get back in this position with my teammates in the next couple of years and win this thing.”
The Celtics’ defense made things very difficult for Irving during the NBA Finals. He averaged just 19.8 points per game, a number that was boosted by his 35-point effort in Game 3 when they ran away from Boston as the series shifted to Dallas. But the Mavs were in an 0-2 gap at that point as Irving scored just 28 points in the first two games, and in Game 5 he scored just 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting. For the series, Irving shot a miserable 27.6 percent from three-point range.
This was Irving’s first full season in Dallas, and he hopes the Mavs can develop into the team he lost to in the Finals.
looking to the future
“I mean, basketball is a game of centimeters, man, sometimes inches, so when the ball leaves your hands, sometimes it feels good, sometimes it doesn’t. That’s the maturity aspect,” he said after Game 5. “You’ve got to move on to the next thing, and that’s what I’m talking about. Whether I’m playing well in terms of scoring or not, there’s a team aspect that we’re more focused on.
“I can score 25 points, but if I can’t, we have to be able to handle each other, and I think that’s what we’re learning about each other, where there’s going to be games where the shooting isn’t going to be good, especially for me or for another player on the team, and that’s where we have to get excited as a group and have other players create plays and opportunities for each other. I’ve been at the point of attack during most of our drives against the Celtics either one-on-one or coming off screens,” he said. “So that’s what the summer is all about, just continuing to work on the things that I’ve seen this year, the physicality, being able to adjust to that and be in a better position for next year.”
He is “very confident” in Dallas, and believes they will be in the title race again next season.
He added, “I think this is an opportunity for us to build a future in a positive way, where it’s almost like a regular thing for us, and we’re competing for championships. You know, I think from a spiritual standpoint, I think I’ve enjoyed this journey more than any other season, just because it was a redemption arc and I was able to learn as much as I could about myself and my teammates and the organization and the people around me. There’s a lot of good people here, so it’s a lot of fun to come to work.”
Boston fans will always have some hate towards Irving, both for how things ended with him and the Celtics and for his antics at TD Garden during his Brooklyn Nets days. But Irving leaving the franchise allowed Tatum and Brown to become the champions they are today, and it’s clear his departure proved to be a blessing.
