BOSTON — Kyrie Irving didn't seem to enjoy his time in Boston. Not the city. Not the fans. Probably disliked Dunkin’, too. Two years in the Hub were enough to send Irving racing for the Amtrak to New York, off to form a potential superteam with the Celtics’ division rival.
Boston doesn’t seem to like Irving. At least not Celtics fans, anyway. To many Irving is the superstar who committed to the city in 2018 only to bail on it nine months later, blowing up a championship-level team along the way. The list of Boston sports villains is a long one. Irving is near the top of it.
Officially, it’s Boston vs. Brooklyn in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Unofficially, it’s Kyrie vs. Boston. Irving scored 39 points in Game 1. He made six of his 10 three-pointers. He handed out six assists, he picked off four passes and made all nine of his free throws. He also flipped off courtside fans (twice) and exchanged some colorful language with another. On Tuesday, the NBA dinged him $50,000 for it.
