How many here actually believe Kyrie sabotaged the team last year?

[perks-a-beast]

By mailing it in against the bucks. Celts dominated them in game 1, then Kyrie starts taking all the shots and shoots an abysmal 30% the rest of the series. Athletes are generally very prideful people so it’s hard to imagine one pulling a stunt like that, but then again it’s kyrie we’re talking about here. Did he already have his mind made up about going to Brooklyn and just didn’t want to advance any further?

[Donoghus]

There's a difference between sabotage & checking out. 

What Kyrie did last year in the MIL series was mentally checkout once the first iota of adversity struck.

[droopdog7]

Kyrie had a terrible series, but I didn’t see someone that checked out or threw in the towel.  If anything, he tried to play hero ball by forcing shots rather than playing within himself.

[Vox_Populi]

🙋

[moiso]

Kyrie had a terrible series, but I didn’t see someone that checked out or threw in the towel.  If anything, he tried to play hero ball by forcing shots rather than playing within himself.

I saw it as Kyrie creating shots for himself that he knew he had no chance of making.  More of a sabotage than trying to be a hero.

[footey]

Game 1 of Bucks series installed a false sense of confidence in the entire team.

After Game 2 loss, Kyrie tried to become Lebron, and take the team on his back.

By the end of Game 4, after two blow out losses at home, Kyrie realized he was not Lebron. Not even close.

Game 5, he mailed it in.  Arguably the entire team did by that point. And who could blame them.

[timpiker]

I don't think he intentionally sabotaged or threw anything.  I just think he's weak-minded and checked out when the going got tough.  When the going gets tough....where's Cryee?

[gouki88]

I don't think it was any intentional act of malice. He just completely choked, and then proceeded to disappear.

[droopdog7]

Kyrie had a terrible series, but I didn’t see someone that checked out or threw in the towel.  If anything, he tried to play hero ball by forcing shots rather than playing within himself.

I saw it as Kyrie creating shots for himself that he knew he had no chance of making.  More of a sabotage than trying to be a hero.

I think you have to really hate the guy to truly believe this.

[Who]

Not intentionally but yes he did.

He just that sort of player - one who can do a lot of damage to his own team through over-dribbling, shot selection, indifferent defensive effort and overall selfishness.

[nickagneta]

Sabotage calls for the action taken to be a deliberate attempt to hurt the team. What Kyrie did wasn't a deliberate act of sabotage.

What he did was he mentally checked out and decided the best way for him to help the team was to stop playing within the constructs of the team. I know, sounds stupid but I am not sure Kyrie is the brightest bulb in the package. 

He played individual street ball and not NBA team ball and because of that the team failed. I think Kyrie deliberately played the way he did but thought he was helping the team not hurting it.

That's not sabotage. That's just being not very smart and being a terrible leader of men.

[SparzWizard]

Ehh I guess he was the reason why the Celtics won Game 1, but also 70% of the reason why they lost the series.

30% of it was the team sucked complete garbage last year. Hayward coming off from his injury, Tatum and Brown still haven't bloomed yet, Rozier demanding minutes, Smart and Theis kept getting hurt etc.

This year, our roster is more strong-minded.

[Monkhouse]

The notion that even someone like Irving purposely tried to destroy us internally; by taking tough shots and making dumb basketball plays is a false narrative that people who inherently dislike Irving proclaim is true.

Did Irving suck and choke? Sure.

I know we don't like Irving, but maybe we should try stop trying to pin everything on Irving.

[moiso]

Kyrie had a terrible series, but I didn’t see someone that checked out or threw in the towel.  If anything, he tried to play hero ball by forcing shots rather than playing within himself.

I saw it as Kyrie creating shots for himself that he knew he had no chance of making.  More of a sabotage than trying to be a hero.

I think you have to really hate the guy to truly believe this.

I don't hate him.  I really think he wasn't trying to make all of his shots though- some attempts were so haphazard it didn't seem like he really cared if they went in.

[Monkhouse]

In fact, why is this even in Celtics talk?

He's not with the Celtics.

He's with the Nets. This should be moved to the Around the NBA sub-section of the forum......

Nothing good will come out of this thread.