The Celtics are just days away from the start of their semifinals series against the Bucks. They humiliated the Nets and destroyed the myth of Kyrie Irving along the way.
Boston's four-game route of the Nets exposed Brooklyn as a disorganized team that's incapable of playing any defense. That extends right down to Irving, who allowed Jayson Tatum to blow by him for the game-winning layup in Game 1, and didn't do much to stop anybody for the rest of the series.
Though the Celtics entered as the favorites, there was a prevailing thought that Kevin Durant and Irving, two of the best players of their generation, could potentially take over and send Boston home — just like last year. But observers were quickly disabused of that notion. The Celtics stifled Durant, holding him to just 38.6 percent from the field, including a gnarly 9-for-24 effort in Game 1 and 4-for-17 performance in Game 4.
Irving, meanwhile, pretty much disappeared after his stellar performance in Game 1. He shot just 37.2 percent from the field in Games 2-4.
Fasting for Ramadan, Irving seemed to enter the series in a good mental place. He talked about his journey with God and how humbled he was to share his talents with the world.
Then he flipped off Celtics fans and cussed at them on his way to the locker room. So much for inner-peace.
Those of us in Boston knew Irving was a fraud from the moment he reneged on his promise to re-sign here if we would "have him back." But it took the NBA world a little longer to see the truth.
That started to happen over the last two years, when Irving flouted Covid protocols and didn't play in Nets home games due to his refusal to be vaccinated. His showing against the Celtics, and circuitous comments afterwards, sealed the deal.
"As soon as he started talking, for the first minute I muted it," Kendrick Perkins said about Kyrie's comments after Game 4.
Former Celtics guard Eddie House wasn't any kinder on NBC Sports Boston. "He talked in so many circles, I started to get dizzy," House said.
The harshest words came from Stephen A. Smith, who called Irving one of the most selfish superstars he's ever seen and mused whether he would've used Russia's invasion of Ukraine as an excuse to not play. "Kyrie is the kind of dude who will get $30 million and go like this, 'Alright, I'll take 20, and skip this time off,' and leave his brothers hangin'. It's who he is, it's who he has been, and the fact of the matter is, what's going on with the Brooklyn Nets right now is a direct result of his negligence," Smith exclaimed this week.
The always restless Irving shot his way out of Cleveland and away from LeBron James' shadow so he could win on his own. Since then, he's done nothing but fail. Irving has never advanced past the semifinals without James, and missed the Celtics' 2018 playoff run and the final three games of Brooklyn's series last year against the Bucks due to injury. He's only played 60 games or more in five of his 11 NBA seasons — and hasn't come close to reaching that mark since 2018-19.
Irving is not a franchise savior. He's a franchise destroyer. The NBA is a star-driven league, but Irving no longer receives the benefit of the doubt.
When Irving left Boston, it was originally portrayed as a fatal blow to the franchise's championship hopes with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. But as it turns out, the Celtics needed Irving to leave in order to achieve their full potential.
The same may need to happen to the Nets. At least not everybody else sees it.
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Celtics-Nets crush the ratings: The Celtics' four-game sweep of the Nets averaged 4.8 million viewers across all networks, making it the most-watched first-round NBA playoff series since 2016. That's what happens when you have star power and legitimate animosity: people tune in. It's a rarity to see that in today's world of pro sports. The Celtics and Nets delivered.
The war on Bill Simmons: Earlier this month, Bill Simmons made a throwaway comment on his podcast about why he didn't vote for the Rockets' Jalen Green on the all-rookie team. "F— Jalen Green," Simmons remarked. "I like winning players, I'm sorry."
Now, the comment was clearly made in jest: Simmons almost certainly knows Green wasn't the reason for Houston's abysmal 20-62 record. But that's not how other NBA players are taking it. This week, Draymond Green became the latest player to question why Simmons votes for awards in the first place. "How is it that this guy has a voice in deciding if Jalen Green will qualify for a super max deal? He clearly says F him, which sounds very personal (by the way). But he has a say in what someone earns? What work has he done in his life that qualifies him to have a say in an NBA players salary?," Green said.
Love him or not, Simmons knows basketball. One lame joke told on a podcast doesn't define him. When people say athletes are too sensitive these days, this episode should stand as Example 1A.
Sage Steele suing ESPN: Sage Steele is suing her old network for allegedly violating her right to free speech.
Does anybody actually know what that means anymore?
Steele ripped ESPN's employee vaccine mandate on Jay Cutler's podcast last year, calling the measure "sick." She also said female reporters should dress conservatively to avoid sexual advances from athletes, and questioned whether Barack Obama is Black.
Steele is not going to prison for her comments, because in America, she can say whatever she wants. But ESPN is a private company with its own standards. She can keep talking, but they're not obligated to keep paying her.
That's how this great country works.
