Kyrie Irving certainly keeps things interesting, with his return to TD Garden no exception.
Prior to Friday night's preseason tilt between Irving's Brooklyn Nets and the Celtics, Irving could be seen spreading burning sage throughout the arena and around the court. After the Nets' 113-89 victory -- in which the guard scored 17 points -- Irving explained that this was going to be one of his new routines.
An impetus for the action, according to Irving, is to carry on a tradition from his Native American heritage. (He was inducted into the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe -- which his mother also is a member -- in 2018.)
"It just comes from a lot of native tribes," Irving said after the game. "Being able to sage, just cleanse the energy, make sure that we're all balanced. When we come into this job, we come into this place, it's not anything that I don't do at home that I did today. I saged last game, and I plan to sage almost every game if the opposing team will allow me to.
"But, literally, it's more or less for us to stay connected and for us to feel great about going to work and feeling safe and provided for from our ancestors. I'm not going to bring too much of the spirituality into basketball, but yeah, it's part of my native culture where I'm from."