Boston Celtics: Kyrie Irving wiped his feet on more than a logo -Boston Celtics are a game away from

The Boston Celtics are a game away from being eliminated from the playoffs by Kyrie Irving and his super squad from Brooklyn, but that wasn’t the story following a 141-126 stomping of his former team along with his superstar buddies.

Despite shooting lights out and scoring 39 points wasn’t enough for Irving.  In quieting the 17,000 at TD Bank Garden Sunday night, the former Celtics guard decided to do some more talking with his actions.  He walked to mid count while congratulating his teammates and wiped his feet on the logo.

Whether or not this led to a fan throwing a water bottle at Kyrie Irving as the team excited the court doesn’t justify any object being thrown at a player.  While Irving has a solid point about how fans treat players, let’s not act like this particular player didn’t play his role.

In fact, this player deserves the boos, he deserves a passionate sports city to dislike him as a player.  Let’s keep it strictly basketball right Kyrie?

Keeping it strictly basketball, this is an organization that traded a popular player for you.  This is an organization that bent over backwards to make you happy.  This is a fanbase that defended you and a fanbase and organization you felt so good about that you, Mr. Irving, you said you planned on re-signing.  And you, Mr. Irving, said you wanted your number up there in the rafters.

Kyrie Irving seems to have a problem with the Boston Celtics, not just the fans
Forget the fans for a second, what did the Boston Celtics as an organization do that made you take your talents to Brooklyn because that action on the logo wasn’t just to further irritate fans, that meant something.

There is tradition in Boston and a tradition that you as a player wanted to be a part of.  There are legends who played in Boston, bleeding green while dealing with a lot more off the court than Kyrie Irving has experienced.

Bill Russell played during a time when racial tensions were at its height, yet he still kissed that logo you wiped your feet on because as a player and a leader he was about the team.

Kevin Garnett was a player who was apprehensive about playing in a city like Boston.  He came, he bled green, won a championship and also kissed that same logo you wiped your feet on.

There is no defending throwing any object at a player so that fan disrespected the team and symbolism of that logo even more than Irving, but let’s not pretend it only happens in Boston.  Both fans and athletes in all sports have a responsibility not to cross that line.  Players are paid millions to represent a team and fans pay hard earned money to buy a ticket.

Keeping it strictly basketball those fans cheer their team and boo the opposition.  Kyrie Irving, you are that opposition because you chose to be.  You wiped our feet of this organization the same way you threw in the towel in Cleveland because you couldn’t handle LeBron James being the team.

It’s bound to happen in Brooklyn too.  Just watch.

As far as the Celtics go, something good may happen as a result of this series in the long run.  First, the team is seeing a superstar really emerge in Jayson Tatum, who followed his 50-point performance with a 40-point performance.

Secondly, this beatdown may just be the motivation the organization needs this offseason to make some moves that will add support around Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

And third, it showed that they don’t need a player like Kyrie Irving.  He proved that during his tenure in Boston, leading the team to absolutely nothing.

Nothing personal Kyrie, it’s strictly basketball

Celtics fan arrested after tossing water bottle at Kyrie Irving
The Boston Celtics may have found a way to nab a victory in this best-of-seven first-round series against the star-studded Brooklyn Nets thanks to Jayson Tatum‘s electrifying heroics, but they are still far from being the title-contending team they were once viewed as when coming into this year’s campaign.

This offseason, it would appear that everyone outside of the likes of Tatum and Jaylen Brown should be considered expendable, and General Manager, Danny Ainge, all but said this during a recent interview with Boston Globe writer, Dan Shaughnessy:

BOSTON —The TD Garden became the latest arena during the NBA playoffs where a negative fan-related incident took place. 

As Kyrie Irving walked toward the locker room tunnel following the Brooklyn Nets 141-126 Game 4 victory over the Boston Celtics Sunday, a plastic water bottle was thrown in his direction and narrowly missed his head. According to reports, the person responsible for throwing the water bottle was arrested.  

“People just feel very entitled out here,” said Irving, who put together a monster outing by scoring 39 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. “They paid for their ticket, great, I’m grateful they’re coming in to watch a great performance. We’re not at the theater. We’re not throwing tomatoes and other random stuff at the people that are performing. It’s too much.” 
The Celtics had a near full capacity crowd of 17,226 on hand for the first time since March 8, 2020, and the incident put a stain on a memorable moment with fans once again filling the TD Garden seats. 

“I guess in any arena there are a few bad seeds,” said Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum. “I don’t want that to overshadow the rest of the fans that came and supported us. I was extremely happy to see that. Obviously, there’s no place in the NBA for throwing bottles or throwing anything at a player.” 

Celtics guard Marcus Smart echoed Tatum’s sentiments and he was happy to see the situation taken care of swiftly. 

“We just had a knucklehead decide to do something knuckleheaded-ish and it got taken care of,” Smart said. “We’re happy for that.” 

Irving, who played for the Celtics for two seasons, drew the ire of their fans after he left the organization at the altar and bolted in free agency to the Nets in the summer of 2019. Irving hadn’t played in front of fans in Boston until this playoff series. 

Irving’s return was also at the forefront following Game 2 when the guard said he hoped there would be no “subtle racism” from the Boston crowd toward him.  

During both games on the Celtics home floor, Irving was booed incessantly whenever he touched the ball. Irving had a subpar showing in Game 3, but didn’t seem bothered by the boo-birds in Game 4 as his stellar play helped the Nets take a stranglehold on the series with a 3-1 lead. 

Besides from a little egging on from Irving when he came out for pre-game warmups for Game 3, he kept his emotions in check on the court. However, Irving stomped and wiped his foot on the leprechaun logo at mid-court at the conclusion of Game 4 before the water bottle came flying at him. 

“It’s unfortunate that sports has come to a lot of this crossroads where you’re seeing a lot of old ways come up,” Irving said. “It’s been that way in history in terms of entertainment, performers and sports for a long period of time and just underlying racism and treating people like they’re in a human zoo.” 

There have been several incidents involving fans and players this postseason. Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young was spit on by someone in the crowd at Madison Square Garden and Washington Wizards guard Russell Westbrook had popcorn dumped on him as he made his way down the locker room tunnel in Philadelphia. The parents of Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant had racially-charged remarks hurled at them in the stands of Utah as well. 

Combined now with a plastic bottled being tossed at his teammate, Kevin Durant was fed up with that sort of fan behavior. 

“When you come to these games you got to realize, these men are human. We not animals. We’re not in a circus,” Durant said. “You coming to the game is not all about you as a fan. So, have some respect for the game, have some respect for the human beings and have some respect for yourself. Your mother wouldn’t be proud of you throwing water bottles at basketball players or spitting on players or tossing popcorn. 

When looking around the C’s roster, there are quite a few positions that could be viewed as areas that should be improved upon this offseason.

Though many may view the point guard slot as a position of need, the folks at Bleacher Report recently stated that Boston should strongly consider finding a replacement for Tristan Thompson at the team’s starting five.

While it’s well known that the franchise will have little wiggle room in the salary department to pursue any top-tier names this summer, should the Celtics wish to upgrade their starting center slot, we at the Houdini believe there are 3 players that could be viewed as viable replacements for Thompson in the starting rotation that would not have them “breaking the bank”:

Boston Celtics replacement option No. 1) Robert Williams III
First up on the list, we have the cheapest and, perhaps, the simplest method of finding a replacement for Tristan Thompson in the starting lineup come next season — sliding Robert Williams III back into the top-five.

Now, this is a bit of an “easy way out” solution, as Time Lord served as the C’s starting pivot for a decent portion of his season until sustaining a knee injury in mid-April, but, nevertheless, should he remain on the roster come next season, once healthy, the 23-year-old should re-claim his role right off the bat.

A true difference maker during his time in the first five, Williams posted averages of 9.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game on an impressive 71 percent shooting from the floor.

Boating a +7.2 box plus-minus rating and an 8-4 record in said role, his stats simply match the eye test when showing just how well the third-year big played for the ball club.

Brooklyn Nets' Kyrie Irving nearly hit with water bottle, Boston Celtics fan arrested
Cole Buckley, 21, of Braintree, Massachusetts, was arrested after he was accused of throwing a Dasani water bottle that grazed Irving's head.

A Boston Celtics fan who was accused of throwing a water bottle at the head of Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving was arrested Sunday.

The incident occurred as the NBA star was exiting the court after helping the Nets to a 141-126 victory against the Celtics at TD Garden in Boston, said Sgt. Detective John Boyle of the Boston Police Department. Irving was nearly hit by the Dasani water bottle, which grazed his head, Boyle said.

Cole Buckley, 21, of Braintree, Massachusetts, was charged with assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, authorities said. Information about a lawyer representing him was not immediately available.

After the game, Irving told reporters that it was "unfortunate" how frequent similar incidents have become since the NBA playoffs started this month.

"It's been that way in history in terms of entertainment, performers and sports for a long period of time, just underlying racism and just treating people like they're in a human zoo — throwing stuff at people and saying things," he said. "We're not at the theater, we're not throwing tomatoes and other random stuff at