Kyrie Irving and his Brooklyn Nets are ready to visit the Boston Celtics to start arguably the most interesting series of the first round of the 2022 NBA playoffs. Both these teams caught fire late in the season, but their prior results made them finish in different positions. After winning the first play-in game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Nets secured the 7th seed in the East.
Now the challenge will be a lot harder, as the Boston Celtics aren’t the team that they were last season. Ime Udoka finally figured things out, Jaylen Brown is healthy and Jayson Tatum is playing like a future MVP.
This series has various condiments that make it one to watch, and Kyrie Irving is one of the biggest. He had a past with the C’s, where he played from 2017 through 2019, promising to stay with the team before going to Brooklyn and joining Kevin Durant three years ago.
After all this time, the people in Boston still hold grudges against Kyrie, but the player wants to put that to rest and remember his stay in Boston for all the good things he was able to do. Talking about his past, Irving said:
“I hope we could move past my Boston era and reflect on some of the highlights I left at TD Garden that they can replay. Move forward. Just a new paradigm, baby.”
Kyrie Irving is returning (again) to Boston for the playoffs, where he's been Enemy No. 1 among fans. He's over it:
"I hope we could move past my Boston era and reflect on some of the highlights I left at TD Garden that they can replay. Move forward. Just a new paradigm, baby."
— Stefan Bondy (@SbondyNBA) April 15, 2022
The Celtics are a dangerous team, and many people thought the Nets would try to avoid them. However, Kyrie shut down that notion, saying that the competition is new for everybody and the Nets have the chance to prove themselves against a big rival.
“I wouldn’t say we’d like to avoid them in any way. This is the best part of the story that could be written. We go against Boston and have a chance to redeem ourselves. They have a healthy team, we have a healthy team; now we get to see who’s (better).”
Kyrie Irving: "I wouldnt say we'd like to avoid them in any way. This is the best part of the story that could be written. We go against Boston & have a chance to redeem ourselves. They have a healthy team, we have a healthy team; now we get to see who’s (better)." #nets #celtics
— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) April 15, 2022
He also spoke about the infamous incident when he stomped on the Celtics’ logo last season, saying it was just part of the game and nothing too big.
“All’s fair in competitions. When emotions are running high anything can happen, and I just want to go in there with a poise and a composure & not pay attention to any of the extra noise.”
Kyrie Irving, on if he relished the role of Boston villain after stomping on Lucky: "All's fair in competitions. When emotions are running high anything can happen, and I just want to go in there with a poise and a composure & not pay attention to any of the extra noise." #Nets
— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) April 15, 2022
We’re ready to see Kyrie and Kevin Durant lead their Nets to the promised land, but the job won’t be easy. They face an inspired team looking for revenge. They could get Ben Simmons back at some point during the series, which would be a huge boost for them. However, that’s not 100% sure right now.
