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Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving was supposed to be the Boston Celtics’ starting point guard for the foreseeable future. Heading into the final year of his contract with the Celtics during the 2018-19 season, Kyrie attended a season ticket holder event at TD Garden and guaranteed fans that he would sign a long-term deal with the Celtics during 2019 free agency. What was supposed to be a promising season for Kyrie and the Celtics ended in a major disappointment. Boston lost in the second round to the Milwaukee Bucks in five games that year, and the clock began to tick on Irving’s expiring contract with the Celtics. In the end, Irving decided to join the Nets that summer, which still has left a sour taste in the mouths of Celtics fans.
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Kyrie Irving Aims To Mend Fences With Celtics Fans
For the second consecutive year, the Nets and Celtics will clash in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Brooklyn came out victorious in 2021 and will be looking to repeat history in this year’s duel. The Nets will travel to Boston for Game 1 of the series on April 17, and despite their rocky history, Irving hopes that Celtics fans can eventually put the past behind them and move on.
“It’s been three years now. Hopefully, probably by the fourth year or after this series, we can be done talking about the past time and what happened there. For me, I definitely don’t want to focus on anything other than what’s going on with our team. Don’t want to focus on the fans; don’t want to focus on any of the extra stuff outside of my control,” Irving told reporters via “MassLive”.
“The environment’s going to be the environment. I’m looking forward to it. It’s just going in there with a sharp focus, fearless attitude, and just staying to our team principles, and just living with the results. I just hope we can move past kind of my Boston era, and just reflect on some of the highlights I left at TD Garden that they can replay. And just move forward. New paradigm, baby.”
Steve Nash Says Nets Can’t Count on a Simmons Return
A key component of this series will be the availability of Nets All-Star Ben Simmons. Simmons was traded to the Nets from the Philadelphia 76ers on February 10. However, he has yet to play for Brooklyn, as he is dealing with a herniated disc in his back. There is a chance that the All-Star forward could make his debut in the first round, but Nets’ head coach Steve Nash says that Brooklyn’s focus has to be on their available players.
“There’s a chance Ben comes back; there’s a chance he doesn’t come back. So, for us, we’ve got to focus on the group, and support Ben and his journey to get back on the floor. But at the same time, we don’t have time to lose focus on the group that’s playing,” Nash told reporters via Brian Lewis of the “New York Post”.
The Nets and Celtics will face off in the first round of the playoffs for the second year in a row, with the Nets looking to repeat history. Could we be looking at the NBA’s next great rivalry?
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