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At one point it looked like Kyrie Irving would be with the Boston Celtics long term after being traded to the team in the summer of 2017. But things quickly soured between Irving and the organization. And when he became a free agent in 2019, he didn’t hesitate to leave and join the Brooklyn Nets.
In an interview last September with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson’ of Bally Sports Network, author Matt Sullivan said that Irving began questioning if he wanted to stay in Boston long-term due to Celtics fans’ long-tenured history of racism.
“My reporting shows in the book that as early as the 2017-18 season, he was thinking about the ‘racist past’ of Boston fans and whether that was the type of city that he wanted to represent,” Sullivan said. “You fast forward to this present season, he’s kind of unprovoked, basically saying, ‘I hope there’s not any subtle racism in Boston…’ and they’re throwing bottles at him [in Boston] and fans in Philly are dumping popcorn on Russ Westbrook.”
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Bob Cousy Takes Brutal Shot at Nets Star Kyrie Irving
Irving moved on from the Celtics over two years ago. But his departure has still left a sour taste in the mouths of some people around the organization.
When asked about the Celtics current issues, legend Bob Cousy, who was an All-Star in all 13 of his seasons with Boston, didn’t hold back on Irving in a recent interview.
“I hate to bring it back to a point guard but … you don’t have that control. When we got a lead of 6-8 points, that was when I would take it home. I just would not allow us to lose the lead,” Cousy said of the Celtics’ recent struggles to Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe.
“They had one in Kyrie [Irving], but he was a head case. They potentially had one in Kemba [Walker], although Kemba was a shooting guard more than a point guard. You need a penetrating point guard at that point who is a threat and then he passes off to the [Jayson] Tatums and the [Jaylen] Browns.”
Steve Nash Sounds off on Nets Defensive Struggles
The Nets have struggled recently on the defensive side of the ball. In their last game against the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks, they allowed yet another team to eclipse the 60-point mark in a half.
The Nets, despite all the turmoil that they have faced up to this point in the season still have championship hopes. They will have to adjust their defensive game plan if they want to be serious title contenders.
“I think there are a few common threads,” Nash said of the Nets defensive struggles per NetsDaily. “I don’t think we’re into the ball, we’re not combative enough to start games, we’re not clean enough with our communication at the level of the ball. There’s not enough of a presence. I think we could do better in transition as well, getting organized.”
While Brooklyn is still in the top 10 in defensive rating in the NBA, they have unraveled defensively over the past few games.
The Nets at one point had a firm lead for the top spot in the Eastern Conference and quickly have found themselves in a dog fight for 2nd place with the Bucks. While the season is still young, they’ll need to correct their defensive woes quickly for the sake of playoff seeding.
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