Although he did his mea culpa earlier in the week, Kyrie Irving suspected that the reception at TD Garden would be lively. It was. From his first balls touched, then the following ones, the leader/back of the Mavs was booed by his former audience during the first round of this NBA final.
“ I thought it was going to be a little louder here “, allows himself to let go of the rearwhile waiting to see what will happen in the second round on the same floor: “ I expect the same thing. »
“ The crowd tried to take my teammates and me out of our element. Energy must be focused on the match », Claims Kyrie Irving, indirectly confirming that the public succeeded. Which seems undeniable when examining his final statistics line.
Big defense in front
But the reality on the ground above all explained the small evening which characterized his return to the NBA final. The 2016 NBA champion with the Cavs suffered greatly against the Celtics defense. With Jrue Holiday as the first curtain, which he had difficulty getting rid of.
Then in the second curtain, near the circle, he had to face Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis who each countered him at least once. Sam Hauser was no exception against him either. And when Luka Doncic's lieutenant was able to benefit from open 3-point shots, he missed the target.
We can also cite his missed pass in the first period, although without pressure, which ended in the stands. Or that dribble on the foot in second…
“ I felt like I had a lot of good shots. They touched the back of the circle or ended up a little left or right. I have to stay confident and keep my composure throughout the match. It's the best time of year to play. There are only two teams left. Let's put things into perspective », he asks.
Not a free throw
No reason to be alarmed, therefore, according to him, who finished with 12 points in 37 minutes, with a poor 6/19 on shots including 0/5 from 3-point range. Not to mention his -19 when he was in play, or the fact that he didn't get a single pass on the free throw line. “ Tonight, Ky and most of the team failed to convert their shots, I hope we have the same shots in Game 2 », also puts Jason Kidd into perspective.
“ It's not the boos, it's not the missed shots. It's more or less our attitude and the way we approach things, possession by possession. I didn't have my best offensive outings in these playoffs », Continues Kyrie Irving, who was notably limited by the Thunder defense.
According to him, the idea is to refocus on oneself and ignore this hostile environment. Recalling that his team had “ proven » why she deserved to be in the final and that she had won the “ right to be here “, Kyrie Irving believes that “ This is not the time to think of yourself as a petty adversary or as someone who is not capable of coping. »
Taking his share of responsibility for this first failure, he concludes: “ This isn't the first time I've lost in Boston. » And against the Celtics in general. He and his teams are now 11 losses in a row.
