Celtics guard Kyrie Irving’s ball chuck at the end of the loss to the Nuggets on Monday was about more than just Jamal Murray’s ill-advised shot, it was about getting the attention of Irving’s underperforming teammates.
Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving’s ball chuck in Denver could be just the think to speed up the Celtics’ jelling process and have them play up to expectations. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
The NBA season is an 82-game slog.
When you’re as deep and talented as the Boston Celtics, it can be difficult to maintain focus during the seven months of regular-season action that leads to the NBA playoffs.
Sometimes a leader of a team has to do something to get his teammates’ attention, not just if the team isn’t performing up to expectations – the way the 6-4 Celtics currently are – but to make sure complacency doesn’t settle in regardless of the time of year or the opponents on the schedule.
So it was no surprise that after Nuggets guard Jamal Murray tried to increase his point total from 48 to 51 with an attempted 3-point shot at the buzzer Monday in Denver, Boston point guard Kyrie Irving took the basketball and heaved it about 50 feet into the stands.
Kyrie threw the ball into the crowd after Jamal Murray’s attempt to make 50-points as the game ended pic.twitter.com/Vbx3oNxmaf
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) November 6,2018
“I mean, what kind of competitor wouldn’t it bother?” Irving told the media, including the Boston Globe, after the 115-107 loss to the Nuggets. “I understand if we fouled him, going to the free throw line. I don’t want to make a big deal out of it. Obviously I was pissed at the game, but it’s time to decompress and move on.
“Congratulations to him having 48 points. He did it in a great fashion against us…. He was the primary concern tonight and he made us pay in certain instances of making some tough shots and some tough layups. But the ball deserves to go in the crowd after a [expletive] move like that. So I threw it in the crowd.”
Irving was responding to a question about Murray’s questionable shot (it should be noted he apologized during an in-arena interview and then through the media in the locker room afterwards) but the 26-year-old former Duke standout may as well have been speaking about any number of things surrounding the Celtics right now.
After losing the first two games of their five-game road trip, they’re already 3 ½ games behind the Toronto Raptors for first place in the Atlantic Division. Although Irving is shooting 48 percent from the floor, many of the players in his supporting cast are not pulling their weight offensively. Marcus Smart (33.3 percent shooting), Terry Rozier (35.5) and Jaylen Brown (37.9) haven’t found their strokes yet. Jayson Tatum is shooting 40.6 percent, but he’s been under 40 percent during his past seven games.
The Celtics’ worst fears are being realized as each player continues to identify his role and how best to fit that role. Jelling as a team hasn’t proven as easy as it was for president of basketball operations Danny Ainge to put this roster together. Losing to Denver was nothing to be ashamed about, but allowing Murray to go off for 48 was certainly somewhat of an embarrassment.
And so Irving chucked the ball away. His teammates, young and old, now know how frustrated they should be at this point of the season. Undoubtedly they’ll come out with more fire in Phoenix on Thursday.
The ball chuck could also be personal motivator for Irving. The great ones always try to find any source of motivation, any slight that could be used to conjure up a response. Like many stars before him, Irving will probably channel the anger over not just Murray’s shot but the Celtics’ lackluster performance into the next few games. Come March when the Nuggets visit Boston, don’t expect Irving to have forgotten what happened in Denver. More likely you should expect Irving to go out and get 50 and do it with plenty of time spare.
When the NBA season isn’t producing enough drama to keep its stars and players tuned in, the smart players drum some up to keep sharp. That’s what Irving did, and he and the Celtics should benefit from the emotion of the ball chuck moving forward.
I have covered Boston sports for a variety of outlets since 2001. I have covered the Bruins since 2005 for a number of entities, most recently for CBS Boston and NHL.com. My Bruins coverage has also appeared in the Boston Herald, New England Hockey Journal, Associated Press…
