The first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs featured some intriguing matchups and great games. One of the series that fans were excited to see was the Brooklyn Nets facing off against the Boston Celtics. However, it didn’t live up to the hype.
The Celtics swept the Nets in four games, handling business rather easily. Many people believed that Brooklyn had a chance to make some noise in the postseason since Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were both in the lineup, but they had no answer for the Celtics and their All-Star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
That matchup was something that Irving recently talked about when playing video games on Twitch. He said that it was meant to happen in the way that it did and explained that it was something he and the team needed.
“We got 4-0’d, my G,” Irving said on Twitch (h/t TMZ Sports). “… We needed that humbling experience, especially going against the Celtics. It was already built to be that matchup.”
Things have certainly been tumultuous for the Nets as Irving missed a large chunk of the season opting to not receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The team sent him home until he was eligible to play full-time, but changed their mind around Christmas, which coincided with when the team’s season went off the rails.
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James Harden was eventually traded as well as the situation with Irving and Durant getting hurt left him as the lone go-to option, which wasn’t what he signed up for. He ended up with the Philadelphia 76ers, re-joining forces with general manager Daryl Morey from their Houston Rocket days.
While the sweep was tough to handle, Irving was happy for some of his old teammates as he spent a few seasons playing for the Celtics before joining the Nets.
“Those youngins over there in Boston, I got to see them grow up,” said Irving. “To see them doing what they did last year on the final stage, making it that far, I’m glad they had to go through us.”
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There is certainly a chance that the teams will meet up again in the playoffs after this season. Brooklyn has a roster capable of contending for a championship while Boston is bringing back mostly the same roster with a few tweaks, ready to compete for a top spot once again.
“We gon’ see them again,” Irving said. “We gon’ have to. They gon’ be where they gon’ be.”
That is some pretty high praise as Irving is expecting the Celtics to once again be atop the standings and one of the last teams standing. He is expecting the same of his Nets this time around, which could lead to a collision course in the postseason.
