When Kyrie Irving was traded to the Boston Celtics, he was supposed to be one of the pieces to help them finally get past LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Irving dealt with injuries all season, though, and he wasn't able to help the team on the court at all during the playoffs. The man they call Uncle Drew was on The Bill Simmons Podcast to discuss all things basketball and talked about how hard it was for him to not be out there with the team.

“[Sitting out the playoffs and watching Boston make a run] sucked, man. It sucked. I can’t even sugarcoat it, it was tough. Not from watching the guys, but of what I was dealing with outside of that. I was leaving the games at halftime because I had eight-hour shifts of antibiotics I had to take for my infection. I had a PICC (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) in my arm for two months and I’m just like, every day is like, I can’t lift, I can’t run, I can’t do anything. If I didn’t have my PICC line in for my infection, I would have definitely gone after trying to be ready for at least the Eastern Conference Finals. ”

Not only was missing the basketball court during the playoffs tough but it could also give him less of a say in the locker room next year. That will hardly be the case, however, as Irving has championship experience under his belt, something most of his teammates could not brag about.

Irving has only two years left on his contract, and he hasn't committed to signing with the Celtics long term. He should be healthy and ready to go next season, and with him, the Celtics are the favorites to make it to the NBA Finals out of the East.