NBA Champ Backtracks on Kyrie Irving Criticism, Issues Public Apology to Nets PG

There were a lot of eyes on the March 10 showdown between the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers, and several big names had something to say after the action wrapped up.

Ben Simmons made the trip to Philadelphia despite not playing just to get it out the way, and the Sixers faithful made sure he heard boos any time he drew attention to himself, but the Nets were able to get the last laugh in a 29 point blowout win.

In the game, Kyrie Irving put on a masterful display of defense on former teammate James Harden, and that played a huge role in the outcome of the game. Harden ended up finishing with 11 points on 3-17 shooting, finishing with an abysmal minus 30 in the +/- category. This was easily his worst performance as a Sixer, and it showed in the final score.

Irving’s defense in particular caught a lot of attention, and NBA champion turned analyst Kendrick Perkins offered the star point guard a full apology.

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Perkins Apologizes

Speaking on ESPN’s First Take, Perkins wanted to go on the air and offer an apology to Irving by making a vow to no longer criticize him.

“What I saw last night was Kyrie Irving,” he begins at the 1:30 mark. “And I’m here right now to apologize to Kyrie Irving on national television and to say that as long as I’m in the media, I will never say anything negative about Kyrie Irving again.”

Not only did Irving hound Harden all night, he also chipped in 22 points on 8-17 shooting, doubling the scoring output of his former teammate with the Nets.

“Yesterday, Kyrie Irving showed me something and he stole my heart,” he continued. “The simple fact that, he went out there and snatched James Harden’s defensively, the way that he picked him up full-court … It just showed me a different level of Kyrie.”

Before his comments on First Take, Perkins tweeted out his praise for the Nets point guard.

“I have to tip my damn hat to Kyrie tonight,” he said. “He guarded Harden all night long and took it personal and made him hold like clean sheets.”

With so much criticism of Irving coming from the media this season, it looks like he has found a new defender willing to go to bat for him each day now.

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Long Road Ahead

There’s no question that Irving is one of the NBA’s best players when he’s on the court, but there’s the problem of him only being able to appear in road games outside of New York.

What that means is Irving is only eligible to play in four of the remaining 15 games on the schedule, so he won’t factor in a ton for the Nets down the stretch. It will also mean he can play in about half of the playoff games if the Nets do qualify. That’s not an ideal situation and it shows just how much Brooklyn will need Ben Simmons going forward.

Durant and Simmons along with Andre Drummond and Seth Curry can be a formidable lineup, but they would obviously be missing the production offered by their superstar point guard Kyrie Irving.

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