The top dogs of the Eastern Conference have gotten a rude awakening to start this 2018-19 season, and the Boston Celtics have received an even colder bucket of cold water after starting out the season with a 7-6 record following a 1-4 road trip that finished with a 100-94 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday. Kyrie Irving put it bluntly — despite being hailed as the best candidate to take over the East's empty throne, the Celtics have a lot more to go to reach that point.
“We needed this [poor road trip]. We’re not as good as we think we are,” Irving said after the Celtics’ erased a 21-point deficit but fell short on Sunday night, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston.
“That’s really what it comes down to. I said it at the beginning of the season: The excitement is just done. It’s real basketball now so it’s not just about the potential of the team or where we’ll be at the end of the season. It’s right now, and taking care of what presently is in front of us.”
“We have challenges, we have barriers to get over as a team [and] individually,” said Irving. “I’m going to be the most patient out of everyone. I’m not going to get too frazzled, too high or too low or anything like that. It’s a long season. I just understand that, for us to be special, we just have to get through some challenges.”
Boston has really struggled to score, especially at the start of games. The Celtics dug themselves yet another huge hole in Portland before nearly coming back, only to fall short. Boston's only win on the road trip came thanks to a massive comeback against the lowly Phoenix Suns, a game featuring a similarly poor start.
The Celtics will have a chance to move past the disappointment on Wednesday, when they take on the 4-9 Chicago Bulls at TD Garden.
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