I dislike Kyrie(merged threads)

[Somebody]

Change the name of this thread to "Rent Free"

Because Kyrie is really living in some of your heads rent free. He's not here, you don't have to watch his games. You can move on if you want to.

After giving us a season of putrid basketball and causing us to lose assets in the offseason? Yeah I'm completely fine with "not moving on" if it means I can keep on bashing him. Moving on from Kyrie doesn't mean that you'll have to forgive and forget everything he did to screw the franchise, I can be completely fine with him not being on the Celtics while talking **** about him because I dislike what he did in Boston.

What is putrid basketball? When I think of "putrid" I think of the Suns and the Hawks. Teams with fanbases that would probably love to switch places with us because we were a playoff team last year and the player in question did have an All-NBA season.
 
And who cares if you ultimately forgive and forget. I don't think he does. So do you. It's just weird to me that 1.) people spend so much energy on a player they expressly dislike after he's gone. 2.) the people who wanted him gone the most are mad that he had the audacity to leave... It's all very peculiar, I say. Very peculiar, indeed lol.

Putrid basketball as in what was on the court compared to the expectations fans had. The Suns and Hawks were rebuilding teams that were expected to be bad teams but show a focus in developing young talent (which they did, Ayton/Booker/Young/Collins are looked very promising last season). Meanwhile we were expected to win but weren't winning, weren't developing our young talent that we wanted to groom as our next batch of superstars because the player in question whined about them getting their shots, and were playing basketball that was the antithesis of the playing style our coach instilled in the past few years (iso ball and lackadaisical defense opposed to free flowing offense and gritty defense).

It's peculiar to me as to why you think we wouldn't bash Kyrie, his antics were a large part in a wasted season last year that had us going nowhere and stunted the growth of our young talent, then he left on a Bosman to top if off (we wanted him gone in a trade, wanting him gone for free is just poor asset management). His actions hurt the team, why wouldn't we be mad at him and slate him as Celtics fans? So, so peculiar LOL.

[Tr1boy]

I barely watched the Celts last season because I didnt want to throw something at my tv... crazy that one guy can have this effect. But a hot dog on offense and a liability on defense, then thats all it takes. The 4 other guys standing around collecting dust in the 4th quarter on offense.  The 4 other guys running around like worn down dogs trying to guard 1.5 players on defense. Felt bad for them and Brad Stevens

This season I'm enjoying watching Celtics ball again. This is a real team once again. Grant Williams is a sick rookie.

[tenn_smoothie]

I would say that his arrogance and disrespect towards a beloved franchise that is still the most successful team in the history of the league accounts for our bitterness. To this day, I hold a grudge against Wicks, Rowe, John Y and Pitino. Now I add Irving's name to that list.

[tenn_smoothie]

I don't think he quit, I just think he didn't care and didn't look to modify his game in the playoffs when plan A wasn't working.

Not caring is essentially the same as quitting. Physically present, mentally absent.

Quit would actually mean not playing.

His body is literally on the game, but his mind isn't. So I guess that counts.

I would say that he went so far as to intentionally take shots he knew were bad, that he put little effort into making and that he was defiant about in the post-game pressers.  It was sickening and was one of the most disgusting displays of arrogance and selfishness I have ever seen. He played and acted as if he were bitter with his own team and decided to express his childish sentiments with his play and words after the games. All the Celtics did for two seasons was bend over backwards to make him happy, make excuses and cover for him when he behaved selfishly and probably turn their head coach into a basket case, by all accounts, in order to accommodate Irving's moods and tantrums.

[tenn_smoothie]

Thank you for showing this team what a leader is not.

 Thank you for bringing our current team closer. Thank you for being a spoiled brat.
 Thank you for going back on your word and not resingning.
 Thank God for a real leader in Kemba.

 The entire team appreciates each other again.

 Maybe we needed to see what a jerk and a coward and very much fake woke person was to truly appreciate winning players again.

 Kemba is literally the polar opposite of Irving. A tough, humble, and just an all around great guy. So refreshing. Pleasure to root for the guy.

 So again. Thank you Kyrie for showing us how not to conduct yourself you pompous little troll.

Well Said. Kyrie and the painful lessons of 2019 may be viewed as a blessing in disguise one day when we raise our next banner.

[trickybilly]

Thank you for showing this team what a leader is not.

 Thank you for bringing our current team closer. Thank you for being a spoiled brat.
 Thank you for going back on your word and not resingning.
 Thank God for a real leader in Kemba.

 The entire team appreciates each other again.

 Maybe we needed to see what a jerk and a coward and very much fake woke person was to truly appreciate winning players again.

Kemba is literally the polar opposite of Irving. A tough, humble, and just an all around great guy. So refreshing. Pleasure to root for the guy.

 So again. Thank you Kyrie for showing us how not to conduct yourself you pompous little troll.

I read this and for some reason in my head instictively replaced Irving with Trump, and Kemba with Bernie.

I know, I know, don't bring politics into this, I know, I know, bad trickybilly, bad trickybilly.

[tenn_smoothie]

Sometimes great players just have a bad string of games.  Even Larry Legend ended the 87 NBA Finals with games shooting 36.8, 38.9, 37.5 (Boston lost that series).  The next year in the ECF (again a loss), Bird shot 35.1% for the series and ended the series with a 4 of 17 night (23.5%) which was coming off a 9 of 25 (36%) night.  Boston lost both those games.  Bird had other games in the series at 30% and 35.3% along with a 40% and a series high 46.7%.  Did Bird quit on the Celtics against the Pistons in 88?

It sucks when it happens in the playoffs, but streaky shooters get cold sometimes.  Them the brakes.

Bird's shooting struggles in '87 and '88 were due to injuries and fatigue, not from quitting on his team.
He was not out there jacking up fade-away 3's and purposely sabotaging the defense for his own sick enjoyment.

Kyrie missed a greater percentage of team games than Bird had as a result of injuries.  Irving also had several very deep playoff runs and only had 1 less year of experience than Bird. 

And for the record, Bird had plenty of terrible shooting slumps before that point in career.  I just used those because they were more recent and thus more people might have actually seen them.

81-82 Eastern Conference Finals (Boston's 2nd of the playoffs) a 7 game series loss to the Sixers, Bird shot 41.2% from the field and 20% from 3.  In the last 3 games of the series, Bird shot 42.1, 31.6, and 38.9.  He had another game at 37.5 and was above 45% 1 time in the 7 game series.  Against the Bullets in the Semis (Boston's 1st series), Bird had games of 30, 37.5, and 25.  So in the 12 playoff games half of them he shot under 39%. 

The prior season, in the NBA Finals which the C's won (against Houston), he had 3 consecutive games of 27.3, 27.3, and 31.3 (that was games 3, 4, and 5).  Of course the C's won 2 of those 3 games because his teammates were very good and carried him through the poor shooting. 

I take it you don't think Bird was tired and injured in either of the 81 or 82 season.  Yet there you go.

Look I don't think Bird quit on the C's at any time, but point that out as evidence that shooters go through slumps.  It happens to the greats.  It happened to Irving.  Sucks it happened when it did and that he got very little help from his teammates, but that is more a roster issue than anything.

OMG, I seem to remember Bird rebounding like a wild animal in that Finals series vs Houston - and diving for loose balls - and busting it on defense trying to get a hand up on shots. Equating Larry Bird and Kyrie Irving in any way is ridiculous.

[Androslav]

3-5 years ago, a friend of mine (Clippers fan) watched Cleveland highlights every game just to see what Kyrie did.
His every basket was a superstar play. Fancy dribblings, floaters, fadeaways, acrobatic layups, he loved all of it.
Nowadays he says no other player in the league has sunk deeper in his eyes with all the drama and controversy.
"He just squeals too much."

[Moranis]

Sometimes great players just have a bad string of games.  Even Larry Legend ended the 87 NBA Finals with games shooting 36.8, 38.9, 37.5 (Boston lost that series).  The next year in the ECF (again a loss), Bird shot 35.1% for the series and ended the series with a 4 of 17 night (23.5%) which was coming off a 9 of 25 (36%) night.  Boston lost both those games.  Bird had other games in the series at 30% and 35.3% along with a 40% and a series high 46.7%.  Did Bird quit on the Celtics against the Pistons in 88?

It sucks when it happens in the playoffs, but streaky shooters get cold sometimes.  Them the brakes.

Bird's shooting struggles in '87 and '88 were due to injuries and fatigue, not from quitting on his team.
He was not out there jacking up fade-away 3's and purposely sabotaging the defense for his own sick enjoyment.

Kyrie missed a greater percentage of team games than Bird had as a result of injuries.  Irving also had several very deep playoff runs and only had 1 less year of experience than Bird. 

And for the record, Bird had plenty of terrible shooting slumps before that point in career.  I just used those because they were more recent and thus more people might have actually seen them.

81-82 Eastern Conference Finals (Boston's 2nd of the playoffs) a 7 game series loss to the Sixers, Bird shot 41.2% from the field and 20% from 3.  In the last 3 games of the series, Bird shot 42.1, 31.6, and 38.9.  He had another game at 37.5 and was above 45% 1 time in the 7 game series.  Against the Bullets in the Semis (Boston's 1st series), Bird had games of 30, 37.5, and 25.  So in the 12 playoff games half of them he shot under 39%. 

The prior season, in the NBA Finals which the C's won (against Houston), he had 3 consecutive games of 27.3, 27.3, and 31.3 (that was games 3, 4, and 5).  Of course the C's won 2 of those 3 games because his teammates were very good and carried him through the poor shooting. 

I take it you don't think Bird was tired and injured in either of the 81 or 82 season.  Yet there you go.

Look I don't think Bird quit on the C's at any time, but point that out as evidence that shooters go through slumps.  It happens to the greats.  It happened to Irving.  Sucks it happened when it did and that he got very little help from his teammates, but that is more a roster issue than anything.

OMG, I seem to remember Bird rebounding like a wild animal in that Finals series vs Houston - and diving for loose balls - and busting it on defense trying to get a hand up on shots. Equating Larry Bird and Kyrie Irving in any way is ridiculous.

Irving's apg, rpg, and spg were all in-line with his season averages.  He wasn't bricking foul shots.  He just wasn't shooting well from the field.

[gouki88]

Sometimes great players just have a bad string of games.  Even Larry Legend ended the 87 NBA Finals with games shooting 36.8, 38.9, 37.5 (Boston lost that series).  The next year in the ECF (again a loss), Bird shot 35.1% for the series and ended the series with a 4 of 17 night (23.5%) which was coming off a 9 of 25 (36%) night.  Boston lost both those games.  Bird had other games in the series at 30% and 35.3% along with a 40% and a series high 46.7%.  Did Bird quit on the Celtics against the Pistons in 88?

It sucks when it happens in the playoffs, but streaky shooters get cold sometimes.  Them the brakes.

Bird's shooting struggles in '87 and '88 were due to injuries and fatigue, not from quitting on his team.
He was not out there jacking up fade-away 3's and purposely sabotaging the defense for his own sick enjoyment.

Kyrie missed a greater percentage of team games than Bird had as a result of injuries.  Irving also had several very deep playoff runs and only had 1 less year of experience than Bird. 

And for the record, Bird had plenty of terrible shooting slumps before that point in career.  I just used those because they were more recent and thus more people might have actually seen them.

81-82 Eastern Conference Finals (Boston's 2nd of the playoffs) a 7 game series loss to the Sixers, Bird shot 41.2% from the field and 20% from 3.  In the last 3 games of the series, Bird shot 42.1, 31.6, and 38.9.  He had another game at 37.5 and was above 45% 1 time in the 7 game series.  Against the Bullets in the Semis (Boston's 1st series), Bird had games of 30, 37.5, and 25.  So in the 12 playoff games half of them he shot under 39%. 

The prior season, in the NBA Finals which the C's won (against Houston), he had 3 consecutive games of 27.3, 27.3, and 31.3 (that was games 3, 4, and 5).  Of course the C's won 2 of those 3 games because his teammates were very good and carried him through the poor shooting. 

I take it you don't think Bird was tired and injured in either of the 81 or 82 season.  Yet there you go.

Look I don't think Bird quit on the C's at any time, but point that out as evidence that shooters go through slumps.  It happens to the greats.  It happened to Irving.  Sucks it happened when it did and that he got very little help from his teammates, but that is more a roster issue than anything.

OMG, I seem to remember Bird rebounding like a wild animal in that Finals series vs Houston - and diving for loose balls - and busting it on defense trying to get a hand up on shots. Equating Larry Bird and Kyrie Irving in any way is ridiculous.

Irving's apg, rpg, and spg were all in-line with his season averages.  He wasn't bricking foul shots.  He just wasn't shooting well from the field.

This ignores the immense change in play-style we saw from him, starting in G2 of the Bucks series.

[moiso]

I don't think he quit, I just think he didn't care and didn't look to modify his game in the playoffs when plan A wasn't working.

Not caring is essentially the same as quitting. Physically present, mentally absent.

Quit would actually mean not playing.

His body is literally on the game, but his mind isn't. So I guess that counts.

I would say that he went so far as to intentionally take shots he knew were bad, that he put little effort into making and that he was defiant about in the post-game pressers.  It was sickening and was one of the most disgusting displays of arrogance and selfishness I have ever seen. He played and acted as if he were bitter with his own team and decided to express his childish sentiments with his play and words after the games. All the Celtics did for two seasons was bend over backwards to make him happy, make excuses and cover for him when he behaved selfishly and probably turn their head coach into a basket case, by all accounts, in order to accommodate Irving's moods and tantrums.

TP.  This is very accurate and is exactly what I saw.  He really wasn’t trying to make those ridiculous shots.  All the posts about prior shooting slumps in his career, Larry Bird’s shooting slumps, and Milwaukee’s defense are irrelevant.  Irving wasn’t trying and it was totally obvious.

[ChillyWilly]

I trust people who are around the team on a constant basis.

In this CLNS media podcast with Sean Grande, Sean talks about how everyone was hoping Kyrie would change his ways from Cleveland but he was only able to do it for a very short period after the Cali flight. He mentions that last year's team was having issues right from the preseason.

Sean says from day 1 it was different this season. Good group of guys who like each other and want to play for each other. Celtics are back to we are one.

https://youtu.be/B1Gy2TVX7MQ

After listening to this it made me realize why some of us are so eager to point at Kyrie. We are a better team but people are writing us off as less than last year. Well last year sucked how can we be less than that giant turd? I strongly believe this seasons squad would curb stomp last years in a 7 game series.

I agree to disagree with Kyrie apologist. He's a stat stuffer who is difficult to play with because he's a terrible communicator. You can blame his terrible communication skills on whatever you want it doesn't change the fact that's what killed last season.

[Somebody]

Sometimes great players just have a bad string of games.  Even Larry Legend ended the 87 NBA Finals with games shooting 36.8, 38.9, 37.5 (Boston lost that series).  The next year in the ECF (again a loss), Bird shot 35.1% for the series and ended the series with a 4 of 17 night (23.5%) which was coming off a 9 of 25 (36%) night.  Boston lost both those games.  Bird had other games in the series at 30% and 35.3% along with a 40% and a series high 46.7%.  Did Bird quit on the Celtics against the Pistons in 88?

It sucks when it happens in the playoffs, but streaky shooters get cold sometimes.  Them the brakes.

Bird's shooting struggles in '87 and '88 were due to injuries and fatigue, not from quitting on his team.
He was not out there jacking up fade-away 3's and purposely sabotaging the defense for his own sick enjoyment.

Kyrie missed a greater percentage of team games than Bird had as a result of injuries.  Irving also had several very deep playoff runs and only had 1 less year of experience than Bird. 

And for the record, Bird had plenty of terrible shooting slumps before that point in career.  I just used those because they were more recent and thus more people might have actually seen them.

81-82 Eastern Conference Finals (Boston's 2nd of the playoffs) a 7 game series loss to the Sixers, Bird shot 41.2% from the field and 20% from 3.  In the last 3 games of the series, Bird shot 42.1, 31.6, and 38.9.  He had another game at 37.5 and was above 45% 1 time in the 7 game series.  Against the Bullets in the Semis (Boston's 1st series), Bird had games of 30, 37.5, and 25.  So in the 12 playoff games half of them he shot under 39%. 

The prior season, in the NBA Finals which the C's won (against Houston), he had 3 consecutive games of 27.3, 27.3, and 31.3 (that was games 3, 4, and 5).  Of course the C's won 2 of those 3 games because his teammates were very good and carried him through the poor shooting. 

I take it you don't think Bird was tired and injured in either of the 81 or 82 season.  Yet there you go.

Look I don't think Bird quit on the C's at any time, but point that out as evidence that shooters go through slumps.  It happens to the greats.  It happened to Irving.  Sucks it happened when it did and that he got very little help from his teammates, but that is more a roster issue than anything.

OMG, I seem to remember Bird rebounding like a wild animal in that Finals series vs Houston - and diving for loose balls - and busting it on defense trying to get a hand up on shots. Equating Larry Bird and Kyrie Irving in any way is ridiculous.

^this. A young Larry Bird was an All-NBA defender (in the first trimester of his career from 80-83 iirc) as well as a high level passer, his impact on the game goes far beyond scoring and shooting.

[fairweatherfan]

Looks like Brooklyn's already enjoying the Kyrie Experience:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/27947336/for-culture-kd-kyrie-comes-next-nets

Yet Irving's infamous mood swings, confirmed by his ex-teammates, which followed him from Cleveland to Boston to Brooklyn, are the unspoken concern that makes Nets officials queasy. When Irving lapses into these funks, he often shuts down, unwilling to communicate with the coaching staff, front office and sometimes, even his teammates. Nets team sources say one such episode occurred during Brooklyn's trip to China, leaving everyone scratching their heads as to what precipitated it. There's hope that Durant will be able to coax his friend into a better frame of mind. But when presented with that scenario, KD says he will be hands off.

There has already been leeway to allow Irving to march to his own drum. The Nets are willing to look past moments like the photo shoot at the Pearl TV Tower in China, when Irving refused to remove his hat and instructed them to photoshop it out. They will focus more on the bigger issue of sharing the ball and maintaining good team chemistry.

Have fun guys!

[bdm860]

Looks like Brooklyn's already enjoying the Kyrie Experience:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/27947336/for-culture-kd-kyrie-comes-next-nets

Yet Irving's infamous mood swings, confirmed by his ex-teammates, which followed him from Cleveland to Boston to Brooklyn, are the unspoken concern that makes Nets officials queasy. When Irving lapses into these funks, he often shuts down, unwilling to communicate with the coaching staff, front office and sometimes, even his teammates. Nets team sources say one such episode occurred during Brooklyn's trip to China, leaving everyone scratching their heads as to what precipitated it. There's hope that Durant will be able to coax his friend into a better frame of mind. But when presented with that scenario, KD says he will be hands off.

There has already been leeway to allow Irving to march to his own drum. The Nets are willing to look past moments like the photo shoot at the Pearl TV Tower in China, when Irving refused to remove his hat and instructed them to photoshop it out. They will focus more on the bigger issue of sharing the ball and maintaining good team chemistry.

Have fun guys!

Regarding the China trip, saw this comment on Reddit and thought it was hilarious:

Probably thought he was gonna fall off the edge of the earth on the flight there and had a panic attack