Kyrie Irving has had a chance to learn a lot about his teammates while he sits out during the playoffs, and the star point guard likes what he sees.
During an appearance on “SportsCenter” Wednesday with Scott Van Pelt, Irving was asked about having season-ending knee surgery last month. He admitted the decision to go under the knife was a difficult one, but he believes he made the right choice.
“I’m in a great place,” Irving said, as transcribed by ESPN’s Chris Forsberg. “The first thing that comes to mind is just coming to the realization that the best time of the year is usually end of the season, going into the playoffs where you really start to develop that cohesion, your blood starts boiling a little bit because now this is the highest level of basketball and that’s the playoffs. You have goals that you set and you always want to hit those goals, but when you’re derailed and it goes in another direction based on some uncontrollable things, it’s your best bet to just take a second to reflect and try to move forward as best as I can and show as much support as I can for my teammates and the best fans, the Boston fans.”
Irving described the experience as “incredibly difficult,” but he couldn’t say enough good things about the way his teammates have battled in his absence.
“We have a bunch of young guys on our team, but the way they are playing right now, they’re playing like experienced veterans,” Irving said. “I feel like, throughout the season, we’ve done a great job of helping one another, and now they’ve taken the team full-force and doing what they’re doing. So I’m just nothing but proud of them, as well as Brad Stevens and the coaching staff.”
One player who has really stepped up with Irving out is Terry Rozier, who did a lot of trash talking during Boston’s first round series against the Milwaukee Bucks but backed it all up. Rookie Jayson Tatum and second-yard guard Jaylen Brown have also shown they are capable of thriving in a high-pressure setting.
With Irving and Gordon Hayward out, everything the Celtics accomplish in the postseason is basically a bonus. If they can begin next season at full strength, the sky is seemingly the limit for the new-look C’s.
