LeBron James was on a mission last night. He was going to leave his blood, sweat and tears on the court, regardless of the outcome. It actually took him playing the entire game for the Cleveland Cavaliers to win the game, but it was a glorious effort and one for the history books.
Though the Boston Celtics have been without Kyrie Irving the entire playoffs, it was particularly interesting that he wasn’t even in the building last night.
According to Danny Ainge, Irving underwent nasal surgery and could not fly back to Boston to attend. Kyrie’s agent said it was a result of his facial fracture earlier this year, which unleashed “Masked Kyrie” for a stretch.
“I get a kick out of the fact that, everywhere I go, people don’t think we need Kyrie or need Gordon Hayward. I have a much longer memory and remember how great those guys were and what an effort it took us to get them. I also remember how great they are and how young they are still.
Kyrie had a deviated septum, had some surgery on that, and so I don’t think he wanted to be seen. He’s a really good-looking guy. He can’t ruin his movie career.”
Thought the timing seems peculiar, it could be argued that having Irving on the bench during Game 7 could have helped the young core a bit, especially when the nerves started to kick in and the team was missing shots. Kyrie’s championship pedigree and veteran experience in the playoffs, could have given the team a spark when the C’s looked shaky.
Either way, Boston has plenty to build on and there’s no arguing that the team would have been significantly better with Irving on the court this postseason.