Getty Grant Williams, Boston Celtics
Kyrie Irving and Boston Celtics fans have a love/hate relationship, in that they love to hate each other.
Ever since Irving left Boston for the Brooklyn Nets, the Celtics fanbase has taken it upon themselves to heckle their former star guard at every given opportunity. Yet, in game one of the playoffs, it looked as though Irving was feeding on the negative energy being sent his way.
Irving ended that game with 39 points on 60% shooting from the field and from three-point range, as he embraced the role of a villain for the Nets. Brooklyn ended up losing that game by one point, but the message was clear – heckling is only going to spur Irving to perform better.
Maybe the crowd should try showering Kyrie with praise – it worked to slow him down when he was a Celtics player…
Because right now, he’s feeding off this negativity
Luckily, comedian Bill Burr weighed in with a new strategy to throw the former Celtics guard off his game and revealed his master plan on an episode of 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher and Rich.
“I long for the days of the Boston Garden when the referees would suck and the fans would chant “CBA.” Now sports fans are like ‘Kyrie Sucks’ first of all he doesn’t suck, all your doing is making him mad, and he’s going to drop 40 points on ya. They should have been chanting ‘the world is round’ to get the guy in his head thinking about the ice wall and his argument about how he can prove it,” Burr said.
Irving Fined For Interactions With Fans
Coming back to Boston in a playoff setting was always going to be a rough ride for Irving. Celtics fans are unforgiving and can be relentless in their heckling when they’re riled up, add a playoff atmosphere to those tensions and things can boil over pretty quickly.
Unfortunately, Irving took the bait, and began to interact with sections of the fanbase in a negative way, even flipping some the bird during a stoppage of play. Rightly or wrongly, Irving was punished for his part in the discourse, with the NBA fining him $50 thousand after a swift investigation.
The NBA announced that Kyrie Irving has been fined after making obscene gestures and directing profane language towards spectators during Sunday’s game vs. the Celtics.
Things seemed quieter between Irving and the crowd in game two, but that’s probably because the star guard doesn’t want to get fined again, but that won’t stop Celtics fans from trying to bait him into another reaction.
Nets Need Stars to Shine
The biggest issue for Brooklyn over the first two games is that Kevin Durant has failed to raise his game, thus leaving Irving to carry the load of the offense. Sure, Durant has still found ways to put points on the board, but without him operating at a superstar level, Brooklyn’s chances of making this series competitive are slim-to-none.
Credit has to go to the Celtics’ defense, who have made life hell for the Nets’ crown jewel, and unless Durant can find a way to counter how Boston is disrupting his flow, Durant could be in for a quick exit from the post-season.
“They’re playing two, three guys on me when I’m off the ball. Mucking up actions when I run off stuff, I see Horford leaving his man to come over hit me sometimes. Just, two or three guys hitting me wherever I go, and that’s just the nature of the beast in the playoffs.
I feel like I got a couple of good shots in the fourth that just didn’t go down. I see a couple of their guys around me every time I get the ball when I’m setting up. So, I gotta be more patient and also play fast sometimes too. And off the ball, just move a little faster, screen a little harder to get free. Watch some film and get better,” Durant said following another quiet night against Boston on Wednesday, April 20.
Boston will face the Nets at the Barclays Center on Saturday, April 23, as they bid to put the series in a vice grip with a commanding three-to-nothing lead.