I’m with Marcus Smart. I’m sick and tired of talking about Kyrie Irving.
Irving’s new team — the Brooklyn Nets — beat the Boston Celtics, 112-107, on Friday in New York. It was the eighth straight game that Irving missed, with what is being called a shoulder injury.
That injury has come into question by some here in Boston who believe Irving was simply making an excuse to not travel with his team to the TD Garden two days prior, this past Wednesday night. Perhaps that theory is a stretch. But also, it is possible that Irving’s injury isn’t too serious. And given all the “load management” talk around the NBA these days, Irving’s recent absence does come at a convenient time, during a stretch in which he was scheduled to make his first appearance at the TD Garden since fleeing for Brooklyn in free agency over the summer.
Irving was not at the Garden on Wednesday night. Had he been, he would’ve heard it from a Celtics fan base that isn’t too happy with the way he ran out of town.
Can you blame any Celtics fan for wanting to boo Irving? I can’t. But at the same time, I can also understand why current Celtics players no longer want to talk about him, publicly. I wouldn’t want to be continuously asked about a player who’s no longer on my team, either.
Smart said just that after Friday’s game in Brooklyn.
“Quite frankly, I’m really, honestly, tired of hearing about Kyrie,” said Smart. “Kyrie is no longer with the Boston Celtics, and it’s a slap across the face of everybody on this team that’s here now to keep hearing Kyrie’s name. Because every one of these guys have put in the work and we continue to put in the work and we are here and still competing, and yet everybody, including the Boston fans, want to talk about Kyrie. Let’s talk about the Boston Celtics.”
Of course, Irving couldn’t let the week pass without somehow inserting himself into the situation as cryptically as possible.
In his instagram story on Wednesday night, after the Celtics beat the Nets in Boston, Irving wrote the following:
“It happens all the time and Tonight just shows how Sports/Entertainment will always be ignorant and obtrusive. It’s one big SHOW that means Very VERY little in the real world that most people live in because there are Actually things that matter going on within it…”
For word-count purposes, and for sanity purposes, I’ll stop right there. The post continues with a lot more nonsense than any actual human should know what to do with while trying to comprehend it all. But this seems to be par for the course with this absolute weirdo.
Irving ended the post with:
“Don’t fall for the Game that’s played in front of you as Entertainment, it’ll never be as serious dealing with LIFE.”
Normally, I side with the athlete. In fact, even right here, right now, I’m siding with Smart and the current Celtics team. They’re sick of talking about Irving. And so am I.
But I feel no sympathy for Irving. His instagram post is obviously responding to the “Kyrie sucks” chants at the Garden on Wednesday night, even though he only heard those chants on his TV at home.
Wow. You got booed by a fan base for an organization that you gave up on. You just signed a four-year, $140 million contract. And after this season, you’ll have made a total of $127 million in nine NBA seasons. But we’re supposed to listen to you lecture us about “LIFE”?
Ok, sounds good buddy.
Irving is a strange dude. But one thing he’s not is a sympathetic figure. So spare us all the 5,000-word essay on instagram and just show up to the Garden when your team returns to Boston on March 3.
If Irving skips that trip too, let’s stop giving him what he wants.
Let’s stop talking about him.
Listen to “The Danny Picard Show” on iTunes and Spotify, and anywhere else podcasts are available. Watch “dPs LIVE” on YouTube. Follow him on Twitter @DannyPicard. Check out all his work at dannypicard.com.
