Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving has an optimistic view of last season’s four-game sweep against the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
The Celtics made quick and easy work of the Nets, who served as the only team to go winless throughout their playoff run. However, Irving, who one way or another seems to never be able to escape headlines, recognizes the sweep as a learning experience for Brooklyn’s squad.
“We got 4-0’d, bro,” Irving said while appearing on the “Boyz Night Out” podcast. “It was meant to happen like that. Motivation, bro. We needed that humbling experience, especially against the Celtics. It was already built to be that matchup. We’re gonna see them again.”
Optimistic, yet also questionable.
Considering the Nets have had Irving and co-star Kevin Durant — both playoff-experienced veterans — for the last three seasons, interpreting a four-game sweep against a younger and less-experienced Celtics team is definitely optimistic. Especially when the organization has more than invested in a championship run through acquisitions such as James Harden and Ben Simmons.
Nevertheless, Irving made sure to tip his cap to the Celtics, his former team of two seasons.
“Those youngin’s over there in Boston, bro, I got to see them grow up,” Irving said. “So to see them doing what they did last year on the Finals stage, making it that far, I’m glad they had to go through us.”
Since Irving and Durant joined forces in Brooklyn starting in 2019, the Nets have made one Eastern Conference finals appearance and endured two first-round sweeps while putting the front office to work with an abundance of acquisitions in the process of coming up short.
