Marcus Smart Not Underestimating What Kyrie Irving, Nets Can Accomplish

Kyrie Irving will return to TD Garden on Friday for the first time since leaving Boston in 2019, and he’s bringing company.

Irving’s first season with the Nets wasn’t exactly what most expected. He spent most of his time battling a shoulder injury, which ultimately led to season-ending surgery Feb. 20.

But now he’s back, and he’s got a healthy Kevin Durant (who missed the entire 2019-20 campaign while rehabilitating an Achillies injury) alongside him now, too. The duo looked solid in their first preseason game Sunday, combining for 33 points, four rebounds and seven assists.

Marcus Smart, for one, knows exactly the impact his former teammate can have on a team. And he knows the challenge Irving can pose, especially when playing with a star like Durant.

“I think when you have a player of the caliber of Kyrie’s talent, that inevitably everything changes,” Smart told reporters, via Celtics.com’s Marc D’Amico. “The conference gets better. The division gets better. The team that they play on gets better.

“… For us, it’s going to take a full team effort, not just on Kyrie, but Kevin as well, and the rest of those guys. They’ve got their confidence. They’re playing really good. They’ve got some really good players around those guys to help them out. So it’s going to take every last one of us.”

Boston will get its first look at the duo in Friday’s preseason finale, which tips off at 8 p.m. ET. And it’s sure to be an interesting ride.