Kyrie Irving has been — perhaps unfairly to a certain degree — on the receiving end of some heavy criticism for his role in the struggles of the Boston Celtics throughout the season.
However, with the C's appearing to have turned a corner of late (as evidenced by their 33-point thrashing of the defending champs, the Golden State Warriors, on Mar. 5), Irving is more than happy to take full responsibility for being the team's undisputed talisman:
“Everybody has to step up but it starts with me,” said Irving, via Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports. “It starts with my energy out there, and my spirit. When everyone’s on the same page, we’re a different team. We weren’t doing that consistently throughout this season, and now it’s more important than ever for us to have connectivity and be together, and that’s where my focus is.
“That helps me play at a high level, when all my teammates are playing at a high level.”
Irving is definitely one of the most polarizing personalities in the NBA today, but he does make a lot of sense with his statement here. Simply put, when he plays well, the rest of the team follows suit.
The 26-year-old then went on to explain exactly what the Celtics need to do in order to sustain the momentum they have currently built:
“Just making a choice: Throw yourself in the game, throw yourself in the rest of the season, throw yourself in the team,” said Irving. “We have everything against us. For us, we’ve dealt with the expectations, we’ve dealt with the outside pressures influencing our locker room. There’s no more time for that. It’s about us and it’s about us competing and being well-organized every single time we’re out there. And, like I said, it starts with me.”
Kyrie Irving and company will next take the floor on Monday when they face the Los Angeles Clippers. It will be a tough matchup for the Celtics, and Irving must lead the charge for his team as they look to extend their winning streak to four straight.
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