Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens says the team's shortcomings in the 2018-19 season can't be solely placed on Kyrie Irving's shoulders.
The Celtics underachieved last season and Irving got much of the blame from the fans and media, something Stevens believes is unfair to Uncle Drew.
“I like Kyrie and I wish him well,” Stevens said, via Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated. “Last year’s season didn’t go the way that we wanted it to, but that’s not on one person. That’s the responsibility of the whole group. It’s a team sport, everybody’s involved in that. There’s no way we should ever look at it any different.
“He had a second-team All NBA season here. When you think about that and you look at his stats, he had as good a season as he’s had in his career—and he has the right, like every other free agent, to go choose their own destination.
“Maybe [Patriots coach] Bill Belichick was way ahead of us when he said, ‘We’re on to Cincinnati.’ We’re on to this year and we’re looking forward to it. We’ve moved past last year, but last year was no fault of Kyrie. It was no fault of anybody individually on that team. It was a fault of the Celtics as a whole.”
Kyrie Irving averaged 23.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.9 assists last season for the Celtics while shooting 48.7 percent from the field, 40.1 percent from beyond the arc and 87.3 percent from the free-throw line. He made the All-NBA second team, but he wasn't able to lead Boston to a deep postseason run.
The Celtics lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of the 2019 playoffs in five games. Irving decided to leave the team in free agency and signed a four-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets this summer, ending his two-year run in Beantown.
Follow Us
Subscribe