The Boston Celtics took care of business in the Eastern Conference, going 12-2 through three series, all while playing without starting center Kristaps Porzingis for the last 10 games.
After completing a sweep of the Indiana Pacers on Monday night, the Celtics will now wait 10 days before beginning the NBA Finals on June 6.
They could know their opponent as early as Tuesday night, though. The Dallas Mavericks have a chance to complete their own conference finals sweep, as they currently lead the Minnesota Timberwolves 3-0.
And if it is the Mavs who wind up meeting Boston, that would mean a showdown with former Celtic Kyrie Irving, who may just be the top Boston sports villain in recent history.
That was a topic that Ken Laird and Chris Curtis discussed on “Ken & Curtis” over the weekend and that Curtis brought to “The Greg Hill Show” Tuesday morning. Listen to the full segment above, with Curtis’ “Lead” on Irving beginning at 13:45.
“I had Roger Clemens ahead of Kyrie, and I was wrong. Kyrie Irving is the single biggest sports villain of my lifetime of watching sports in Boston,” Curtis said. “The absolute dink of all dinks. … Kyrie Irving says he’s going to re-sign. Fans go nuts. … And then he leaves. And he comes back and he loses, and instead of just being accountable, he goes, ‘Subtle racism.’ Like it was the racism of the fans who were so sad that you left that created the situation. Kyrie represents everything that is wrong with the modern athlete: No accountability, never takes blame, always puts it on others. I cannot wait for the Celtics to absolutely eviscerate Kyrie Irving.”
“I hope in the locker room they just are playing a loop of him stepping on Lucky,” added co-host Courtney Cox, referencing Irving stomping on the Celtics’ center court logo when he was with the Brooklyn Nets in 2021. “If you haven’t watched it in over a year, take the time today.”
As the show went on to lament, however, Celtics players have made it clear over the years that they don’t hold the same grudge against Irving as Boston fans.
Irving is playing his best basketball in years and has, in the face of initial skepticism, turned out to be a terrific running mate for Luka Doncic in Dallas. Irving is averaging 22.4 points and 5.3 assists per game this postseason while shooting 49.2% from the field and 44.0% from three.
“I hate doing it, but you have to give Kyrie Irving some credit,” Greg Hill said. “Remember when he went to Dallas and we were like, ‘What’s he gonna accomplish there?’ He is having an extraordinary season.”
In addition to Irving and Clemens, other names that came up in the “greatest Boston sports villain” debate included Alex Rodriguez, Roger Goodell, Peyton and Eli Manning, LeBron James, Bill Laimbeer, Ulf Samuelsson (who derailed Cam Neely’s career with a knee-on-knee hit), and Matt Cooke (who derailed Marc Savard’s with a hit to the head).