The Boston Celtics’ second-round NBA playoff series started with great promise but soon could end in frustration.
As fate would have it, Kyrie Irving’s time with the Celtics might end up following a similar theme.
After routing the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1, Boston has dropped three straight games to the Eastern Conference’s top-seeded team. The Celtics’ latest defeat came Monday night in Game 4, which saw Irving post a lowly 7-for-22 shooting mark from the field. And if you ask Nick Wright, it was the star point guard’s last home game at TD Garden.
"The series is over and Kyrie's tenure in Boston is over. This entire 2-year experiment with Kyrie Irving is ending in disaster. And while I empathize with Kyrie, he has made this worse on himself."
— @getnickwright explains pic.twitter.com/vDyxjOSsmA
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) May 7, 2019
It doesn’t seem like Irving has waved the white flag just yet, as he stressed his confidence is “unwavering” despite Monday’s loss. Those feelings likely are felt throughout Boston’s locker room, as well.
That said, the Celtics have an uphill climb to salvage their NBA Finals hopes, to say the least. Boston will need to pull off an upset win Wednesday night at Fiserv Forum in order to stave off elimination and bring the best-of-seven set back to TD Garden. It’s far from impossible, but the Green’s last three outings haven’t exactly inspired optimism.
Irving’s future is a separate issue, and who’s to say it’s directly correlated to Boston’s playoff run? The 27-year-old will have plenty of time this summer to evaluate his next career move, but for now, he has a statement game to prepare for.
