Celtics saw ‘red flag’ in players’ indifference to Kyrie Irving stomping logo
When Kyrie Irving stomped on the Celtics’ center-court logo at TD Garden after a Nets playoff win, he sparked a wide range of reactions. A new report suggests that the C’s organization didn’t like the reaction – or lack thereof – from its own players.
Former Celtics reacted to Irving’s cartoonishly villainous move to stomp on “Lucky,” the longtime Celtics mascot and likeness of the team logo, in their own unique ways. Kevin Garnett slammed Irving for the move, while Kendrick Perkins didn’t have much of a problem with it. But the Celtics’ current roster decidedly did not react with the anger (or at least, competitiveness) that those within the organization may have wanted to see.
Here’s how Jared Weiss described the situation in a new column for The Athletic:
Despite the continuity in leadership, several team sources suggest the Celtics’ culture of competition is eroding — with more than one source pointing to the players’ perceived indifference toward Kyrie Irving stomping on the Celtics logo after the final home game of the season as a red flag they did not exhibit the same sense of pride in the organization that has been the Celtics’ calling card in years past.
The perceived “indifference” to the logo stomp reflects a bigger problem – perhaps not just in Boston, but across the NBA. Where is the competitive fire? Where is the battling? Where is the hate? Because it certainly makes for a more compelling on-court product when teams truly want to beat each other in the game, and even better if they genuinely don’t like each other.
Obviously, Jayson Tatum doesn’t hate Irving, and neither do many of the Celtics’ other younger talents. Jaylen Brown might be a different story. But even if Tatum is a friend of Irving’s, he and the Celtics are best suited with him competing hard against his friends on the court. Even pro hockey players, who routinely (and sometimes literally) beat the crap out of each other, can battle intensely on the ice but be friends or respect each other off it.
It seems that the friendly part is creeping onto the court a little too much with the Celtics. That’s a problem for a team that clearly has some high-end talent. The organization may never convince them to have much pride for the logo or the history or anything, anyway. But they should be able to make them more competitive between the lines on the hardwood.
The logo thing is ultimately silly and petty, on both sides. More important is how the Celtics find a way to inject more competitive juice into the roster for the games themselves, especially at the top.
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Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @mattydsays. You can also email him at [email protected].