Kyrie Irving has had arguably the best year of his career this season, and his stellar play carried over into Game 1 of the Boston Celtics' Eastern Conference Semifinal matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks. Irving stuffed the stat sheet with 26 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds in a 22-point Boston win that had the NBA community buzzing.
But Irving has struggled to recapture that form in the last two games, and the Celtics have suffered as a result.
In Game 2, Kyrie shot just 4-of-18 from the field and registered a plus-minus of minus-19 for the contest. And in Game 3, Irving scored 29 points but shot just 8-of-22 and committed four turnovers. Not coincidentally, Boston lost both games.
The 27-year-old has been fairly trite in his statements to the media, declaring his need to stay patient and decrying the amount of free-throw attempts the Bucks took in Game 3. But on Sunday, he even was more straightforward and direct in explaining what he needs to change moving forward in the series:
Kyrie: "I’ve just got to be me, man. That’s the easiest part. I think painting a great picture, you just need help doing so."
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) May 5, 2019
Kyrie Irving — seemingly suggesting that some of his teammates could stand to improve as well — has always held his guys to a high standard. He has also been fairly consistent with his messaging of not stepping outside himself and playing the game the same way:
Kyrie Irving: "The game is gonna be the game. Shots are going to go in as long as you play the right way…"
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) May 5, 2019
Kyrie Irving: “Just be smarter with the possession. That’s it.”
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) May 5, 2019
However, it is hard to ignore Irving's struggles during this series. Needless to say, the Celtics need their best player to compete at an All-Star level and match Giannis Antetokounmpo if they hope to get back into the series.
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