Kyrie Irving. The player Boston fans love to hate, and hate to love.
And he did it to you again Thursday night.
Irving elicited a tidal wave of what-might-have-beens thanks to his 40-point torching of his old team, helping kill any newfound Celtics optimism via a 121-109 Brooklyn victory.
The combination of the Celtics wallowing in mediocrity, Irving's replacement Kemba Walker scoring only 11 points, and Kyrie pushing aside any off-the-court oddities for another spectacular on-the-court display wasn't good for Danny Ainge.
Here it comes ... 3, 2, 1 ... What if the Celtics just made it work with Irving?
Spoiler: It was never going to work, and, let's be honest, the majority of Celtics followers really had no desire to wedge that square peg in that round hole.
What games like this will do is make people forget. It's not the first time Irving has shoved the Celtics' fans in a glass case of emotions while gleefully watching from a safe distance. That final season with the Celts, for instance, when Irving and his teammates had "figured out" the guard's bizarre existence as a sort-of-leader while cruising through the Pacers.
And when Boston beat Milwaukee in Game 1, the Kyrie-led dynasty was well on its way.
But a week later, Irving's existence had become loathsome to many, making the guard's proclamation from the previous October that he had every intention of remaining with the Celtics even more laughable.
Irving's skill is that he makes you feel either all-in, or all-out. That is the lesson to be learned here.
Since Irving last moment in a Celtics uniform, almost every of the 674 days have been filled with the satisfaction that Brad Stevens' team isn't built around Kyrie's crazy.
Then along comes a night like Thursday.
But don't do it. Talent wins in the NBA, no question. And if Irving stayed this Celtics edition would undeniably be viewed as a different tier of team. Still, it's not worth it.
Don't be seduced about what the Nets are doing. There is still a long way to go and a lot of avenues for implosion before the NBA Finals. Let's give Ainge a chance to figure out if he can supply somewhat of an answer and reverse course on what has been a bad stretch of team-building.
It might sting in the short term, but you shouldn't be seduced by those most recent images. Nobody knows better than Boston sports fans -- 40 points or no, life is better without Kyrie.
