“I thought it was gonna be a bit louder…” Kyrie Irving after facing hostile Celtics crowd in Game 1 defeat of Finals

Kyrie Irving and his teammates have to deal with the hostile Boston Celtics crowd again in Game 2.

“I thought it was gonna be a bit louder…” Kyrie Irving after facing hostile Celtics crowd in Game 1 defeat of Finals

Kyrie Irving thought the Boston Celtics crowd could have been a little louder after getting blown out in Game 1 of the NBA Finals

Kyrie Irving knew that going into TD Garden would bring back the long-time beef he has with the Boston Celtics fans. The hostile fans have not forgotten him, leaving them high and dry for greener pastures. They also have not forgotten his stomp on their logo in the arena. Naturally, the Dallas Mavericks superstar was about to hear from them in the NBA Finals.

When reporters asked him if he had expected that kind of reception from the Boston Celtics fans. He explained in the best Kyrie Irving way.

It’s basketball at the end of the day. Being in this environment, I’m used to it at this point. Over the past few years just experiencing the playoffs here, even regular season. It's been the same thing. I thought it was gonna be a little louder in here. But I'm expecting the same things going into Game 2. Crowd trying to get me out of my element, my teammates out of my element.
Kyrie Irving said

Irving did expect the Celtics fans to be hostile towards him. He has faced it before. But he expected them to be a little louder.

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Although there were calls by a former Celtics champion to leave Kyrie Irving alone, they would not let go of the chance to boo and taunt him at every opportunity. It is not clear if the superstar’s poor shooting night was influenced by the noise.

The next game is again in TD Garden. That should give a clearer picture if the Celtics fans did end up affecting their former superstar. But the Dallas Mavericks superstar essentially shot back at the fans by suggesting that they were not loud enough.  This ongoing tension makes for an interesting angle for those placing NBA Finals bets.

Kyrie Irving had a forgettable Game 1 of the NBA Finals

In Game 1, all eyes were on how the superstar and his teammate Luka Doncic would perform. Doncic kept up his end of the bargain by putting up 30 points and 10 rebounds. However, it was Irving who struggled. He shot 6 of 19 from the field, putting the strain on his teammate to get them back from an almost 30-point deficit.

Luka Doncic did bring them back to within 8 points. However, it was not enough, as Irving and the other teammates struggled to get anything going. The former NBA Champion will have to look at himself and work to be better in Game 2. Else, the series will start to slip away from them.

More importantly, the 8-time All-Star will have to lead by example. He knows his younger teammates look up to him. Therefore, he will have to set the tone in the NBA Finals.

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