Kyrie Irving Denies Looming Free Agency Affected Play vs. Bucks
Kyrie Irving may have played his last game in a Boston Celtics uniform, but he insisted his uncertain future had nothing to do with his struggles in Wednesday's 116-91 loss.
Irving was a mere 6-of-21 from the field and 1-of-7 from deep in the Game 5 loss, continuing the shooting struggles that plagued him throughout the series against the Milwaukee Bucks. His inability to thrive as Boston's go-to option was a primary reason the Celtics lost four straight after winning Game 1 and saw their season come to an end.
Now attention turns to the offseason and his pending decision with a player option for the 2019-20 campaign.
Irving's poor performance in Wednesday's contest wasn't an isolated incident.
He was a mere 19-of-62 (30.6 percent) in Games 2 through 4 after the Celtics won Game 1, which allowed the Bucks to seize control of the series. After Game 4, he told reporters, "Who cares? I'm a basketball player. Prepare the right way. ... The expectations on me are going to by sky high ... for me, the 22 shots? I should've shot 30."
He didn't shoot 30 in Game 5, but it certainly wouldn't have helped with the way he played.
It wasn't long ago this Celtics team appeared destined to reach the NBA Finals. LeBron James headed to the Western Conference after eight straight Eastern Conference titles, and Boston brought back Irving and Gordon Hayward after they missed last year's run to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
There was star power all over the court, and it started with Irving.
However, Tim Bontemps of ESPN.com pointed to Irving's tendency to criticize his teammates throughout the season as "ongoing tensions within the team" built: "There are plenty of reasons to explain why this season was so hard, and why these Celtics were so disappointing. At the root of all of them, though, is Irving—and, more specifically, his leadership through words and actions on and off the court."
The point guard turned heads in February when he told reporters, "ask me July 1" when asked about free agency, which stood in stark contrast to what he said in October:
Whether Irving signs with the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets or someone else, there is no other way to classify this season than a disappointment. His shooting woes in the second-round loss to the Bucks served as the closing act, and he can now turn toward that future he said wasn't distracting him on the court.
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