Irving On 2015 Playoffs: ‘I Was A Bad Mother [Expletive]’ Against The Celtics
Your browser does not support iframes. Kyrie Irving spent Wednesday morning watching some old highlights of the 2015 first-round matchup between the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers. In 2015,…
(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
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Kyrie Irving spent Wednesday morning watching some old highlights of the 2015 first-round matchup between the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In 2015, Irving and then teammate LeBron James would go onto sweep Isaiah Thomas and the Celtics in the first-round of the NBA Playoffs, before eventually losing in the NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors in six games.
During a court-side conversation with reporters, Irving went onto to talk about how he "loves watching highlights."
It might sound a bit self-absorbing, but from the sound of it, he just likes to watch tape on himself to hopefully make his game better.
CLEVELAND, OH - Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers fights for a rebound with Jae Crowder of the Boston Celtics in the first half during Game One in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals of the 2015 NBA Playoffs 2015 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
By the end of the interview someone asked Irving 'what'd you say to yourself while watching today?'
His response: "I was a bad mother [expletive]."
Guess what Irving? You still are! But in all seriousness, he was a bad mofo in that series and even in last year's matchup against the Celtics.
Irving did go onto to say that "the best thing for him" prior to playing in the playoffs, was "getting advice from the veterans."
And at the time, the Cavaliers had a handful of veterans to help show Irving the way. They had the likes of James, Kevin Love, J.R. Smith, Shawn Marion and former Celtic and champion, Kendrick Perkins.
CLEVELAND, OH - Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots against Jae Crowder of the Boston Celtics in the second quarter during Game Three of the 2017 NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
"You set days in advance to prepare, and you make adjustments in between games. It take a lot of preparation," said Irving on preparing for the playoffs.
From the looks of it, Irving did a pretty good job preparing for the Celtics before their meetings in the first-round of the 2015 NBA Playoffs and the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals.
By The Numbers:
In 2015 against the Celtics, Irving averaged 23.3 points on 41.5 percent shooting from the field, while averaging 50 percent from three. He also averaged five rebounds, 4.3 assists a steal during 40:36 minutes-per-game.
Last year against the C's, he averaged 25.8 points, while shooting 60.8 percent from the field and 44.8 percent from deep. Through 35:26 minutes-per-game, he also averaged two rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.2 steals.
He averaged 5.5 more points-per-game, while shooting 19.3 percent better from field against the C's during last year's Eastern Conference Finals in comparison to the 2015 matchup. But in 2017, he played five less minutes and snagged three less rebounds-per-game. And he shot five percentage points worse from three.
We've yet to see Irving's impact on the Celtics come playoff time, but based on his previous experience, we should have high expectations for the super-star guard heading into the 2018 NBA Playoffs.
In Other Celtics' News:
After Thursday night’s 117-109 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Boston Celtics have now clinched a playoff spot for a fourth straight year.
And Jaylen Brown says he's "OK" after a scary fall during Thursday night's game.
UP NEXT: The Celtics (45-20) play the first of a two-game homestand on Sunday night against the Indiana Pacers (37-28). Catch the call of the game with Sean Grande and Cedric Maxwell, live on 98.5 The Sports Hub. Pre-game coverage begins at 7:00 p.m., with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m.
-- By John 'The Dude' Hardiman, 985TheSportsHub.com
