Kyrie Irving will start the Celtics-Nets series without any food or water in his system. The star point guard is fasting for Ramadan, meaning he can't drink or eat from sunrise to sunset for the month of April.
Game 1 is Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
Irving's fast for the Muslim holiday, and the impact it could have on his play, may be one of the biggest X factors in the series.
It didn't seem to hamper Irving Tuesday, when he went off for 34 points on 12-of-15 shooting during the Nets' Play-In tournament win over the Cavaliers. Irving was the best player on the court, coming through with a perfect first half.
"I am walking with faith and that's all that matters," Irving said after the game. "When I get a chance to do this, in this type of arena and showcase my talents that have been granted to me strictly from God and I am humble."
Since the Nets tipped off their contest against the Cavaliers at 7:00 p.m. EST, Irving was able to eat and put fluid into his body towards the end of the first quarter. That will likely be the case for the bulk of the series: it's fair to assume all of the weeknight games will start at 7:00 p.m. or later. But in addition to Game 1, there might be a couple of other afternoon games. Game 3 is slated for next Saturday, and Game 7 would be played Sunday, May 1.
The NBA playoffs are grueling, even with multiple days off in between games. Without fasting, Irving's stamina would be a bit of an unknown, anyway. He only appeared in 25 games this season, due to New York City's ban on unvaccinated athletes playing home games.
According to Irving, fasting is a boon to his focus and preparation, not a detriment. Muslims fast during Ramadan to practice discipline and empathy, as well as get closer to God.
On TNT Tuesday, Kenny Smith, who played with Hakeem Olajuwon for years with the Rockets, said he thought the Hall of Fame center elevated his performance during the holy month. "During his Ramadan month, he actually played his best," Smith said. "I asked him that one time, and he was like, 'Kenny, when you take the emphasis off of food, and put it on prayer and thought, you focus better.'" The only thing that was the toughest thing was, he didn't drink anything, either. So during the game, he never drank any water. So he said after the game, he felt a little dehydrated. But during the game, there's so much excitement, he said his focus was so locked in."
Experiencing dehydration isn't conducive to achieving peak athletic performance. Tom Brady, for example, drinks more than two gallons of water per day. Charles Barkley, who also played with Olajuwon, said he thought he struggled during day games.
"When we played night games, he ate, because the game started at night. He ate before the game," Barkley said. "But when we played an afternoon game, he said something interesting, I thought he did get dehydrated, because he didn't drink. Not only did he not eat, he didn't drink. I thought there was a notable difference."
With Marcus Smart likely covering Irving, he'll need all of the nourishment he can get. "If they're playing in the afternoon, it's going to be curious to me, because that boy Marcus Smart, he's a different animal," Barkley added. "You're gonna need some serious energy level to play against Mr. Smart, because he is arguably with Jrue Holiday, the best guard defender in the league."
So those are two opposing observations: Smith says he thought Olajuwon focused more during Ramadan, whereas Barkley says the dehydration hindered his play. We'll see what the case is for Irving.
Tuesday indicates the former may apply to him, but then again, it could be a long series.
