Jackie MacMullan
AS THE PUBLIC flogging commences, and the piling on ensues,
Kyrie Irving assumes a yoga pose in Japan with the accompanying cryptic message: "Freedom from greed ensures a peaceful life."
It's too simplistic to put all the blame of Boston's lost 2018-19 season at the feet of this basketball supernova, who declared as recently as early May, "
I'm an actual genius when it comes to the game."
Don't snicker too loudly -- he's not entirely wrong. The talent is unmistakable, the work ethic indisputable and the courage to take a shot in the biggest moment is what drew the Celtics to him in the first place. Yet Kyrie's awkward attempts at providing forceful leadership proved to be flawed, and ultimately destructive. His journey began as an earnest attempt to fulfill his dream of leading his own team to the pinnacle, but he failed spectacularly, with help from a disjointed collection of talented individuals who simply could not figure out how to collaborate in unison.
This debacle was no solo act.
If people actually believe Boston's implosion was all Kyrie Irving's fault, they
weren't paying attention.
"It wasn't just him," says former Celtic Cedric Maxwell, the team's radio analyst. "This group was the most dysfunctional team I've seen since 1983, when we had four Hall of Famers on our roster and got swept by the
Milwaukee Bucks. These guys never found a way to be on the same page."
Kyrie Irving led the Boston Celtics with 245 free throw attempts last season, but only one team attempted fewer free throws than Boston.
In fact, it didn't take long for Boston's coaching staff to grow concerned about the team's vibe. They peeked in on the preseason pickup games and discovered young players who experienced exhilarating results the previous season by making the extra pass, but were now jacking up shots and running isolation plays. Ironically, it was Irving who implored his teammates to share the ball in the infancy of the season. And yet, by season's end, it was Kyrie who had hijacked the offense.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens says he knew from the beginning it would be a challenging season for Boston.
"The bottom line," Stevens told ESPN, "is that we had seven perimeter guys who were all very good players, and all of them brought something different and unique to the table. If you ask any one of them, I'm sure they'll tell you it was hard to find all that they wanted this season.
"I don't lose any sleep over that. They were all extremely competitive, well-intentioned guys. The pieces just didn't fit."
THE PIECES INCLUDED Jayson Tatum,
Jaylen Brown and
Terry Rozier thirsting for more shots and a bigger role;
Gordon Haywardstruggling to recover both
mentally and physically from a catastrophic injury; and
Al Horford, the model of decorum and professionalism, choosing not to challenge Irving when the point guard's emotions disrupted the team.
After a November loss to the
Portland Trail Blazers, the team's fourth in five games, Irving opined that the team needed a 14- or 15-year veteran on the roster to add levity to their group. By January, he was wondering aloud if his younger teammates understood what it took to play at a championship level. Brown pushed back, saying, "It's not the young guys', old guys' fault. It's everybody."
On Jan. 9, the Celtics blitzed the Indiana Pacers in Boston, then flew out that night to Miami, arriving at the team hotel after 2 a.m. on Thursday. Boston was set to play the Miami Heat that night, but, team sources said, that didn't stop some of the young players from heading to South Beach, where the clubs stay open well past 5 a.m. It's not uncommon for NBA players to go out when they're on the road, but Irving was irked teammates decided to do it in the middle of back-to-back games.
The Celtics ended up submitting a lackluster effort in a 115-99 drubbing at the hands of the Heat.
During a timeout in that game, a testy exchange between Brown and veteran Marcus Morris, who was angered that Brown didn't hustle back on the defensive end, was captured on video. Morris admonished Brown to "play harder" and shoved him before Marcus Smart quickly intervened.
Reporters clamored to ask Irving about it after the game, but he had disappeared. After nearly 30 minutes, he was found shooting baskets on Miami's practice court, hoping some of his teammates who had played so poorly might join him.
None of them did.
By the time Irving returned to answer media questions, most of his teammates were gone. Asked to explain why he felt compelled to engage in the postgame session, Irving said, "I just wanted to feel good going into the next game. We're staying over in Miami, so I'd rather be in here than be out in Miami right now."
Two nights later, the Celtics lost by two points to the Orlando Magic. As Stevens drew up the final play in the huddle, an animated Irving objected to where he was slated to receive the ball. Irving was a primary option on the play, but when Hayward saw Tatum open in the corner, he threw him the ball instead. Tatum missed. Irving's incredulous reaction, including jawing at Hayward and raising his arms in disbelief, quickly went viral.
Kyrie Irving says the Celtics need to have a "championship or nothing" mindset after appearing frustrated at the end of Boston's loss to the Magic.
Kyrie's postgame comments included yet another reference to his team's lack of experience. He would later apologize for his reaction to the final play, but the damage was done, both in his locker room and in the public court of opinion.
Stevens had regular discussions with Irving throughout the season, and Kyrie once praised Stevens as "a great basketball mind." By season's end, Irving had
publicly questioned his coach's tactics and management of the roster. "Kyrie really put Brad through the ringer," one Celtics staffer noted. Stevens
repeatedly blamed himself for his team's mounting losses, vowing to do better, while his coaches became increasingly concerned about the toll it was exacting on their head coach.
"He really beat himself up for how things went," says Micah Shrewsberry, who left the Celtics to become Purdue's associate head coach. "I know right now Brad's watching every game 10 times over trying to figure out what he can do better."