There’s no way around it: Kyrie Irving was terrible in the Boston Celtics’ second-round NBA playoff loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
The All-Star point guard was solid in Boston’s Game 1 win, but he completely fell apart after that as Milwaukee rattled off four straight victories to punch its ticket to the Eastern Conference finals.
Irving’s problems started well before the postseason, though, and Skip Bayless explained Thursday on FS1’s “Undisputed” why he “1,000 percent” blames the 27-year-old for Boston’s downfall.
"Kyrie Irving deserves 100 make it 1000% of the blame. … The Celtics beat the Bucks last year in 7 games. They took LeBron's team to Game 7 of the Conference Finals with no Kyrie and no Gordon Hayward." — @RealSkipBayless pic.twitter.com/Jvpfyvk2RV
— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) May 9, 2019
The Celtics entered this season with NBA Finals aspirations after taking LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games in the Eastern Conference finals last season without Irving and Gordon Hayward. But they never gained their footing, and Irving’s questionable leadership tactics contributed toward an awkward environment in Boston.
So what’s next for Irving and the Celtics after Wednesday night’s season-ending loss in Milwaukee? That’s anyone’s guess at this point, although it seems likely now more than ever that Irving, who can become a free agent this summer, has played his final game in a Boston uniform.
