Kyrie Irving was not pleased. He had just seen the Celtics snatch defeat from the throes of victory yet again, and his post-mortem showed his surliness. As he answered query after query on why the green and white proved unable to protect a sizable lead anew, he couldn鈥檛 help but issue biting remarks. Not even their game plan against the Hornets鈥 Kemba Walker was spared; after seeing the All-Star torch them for 18 points in the last eight minutes of a match they led by the same number heading into the same time frame, he noted that they 鈥渟hould have trapped him a little bit more like every other team does in the league.鈥
Irving鈥檚 statement seemed like a direct stab at head coach Brad Stevens鈥 decision making, especially since he pointed out that Walker 鈥渢orches us every time we play [the Hornets]. It鈥檚 no surprise.鈥 Perhaps he was just irked at all and sundry, including himself. After all, he didn鈥檛 exactly arrest the bleeding when he checked back into the set-to with a little under six minutes to play and the Celtics still up by 10; he managed just one field goal against four missed three-point attempts, four fouls, and one turnover in the crunch.
Significantly, Irving鈥檚 poor body language reflected his dismay throughout the Celtics鈥 swoon; he looked particularly non-plussed when, with 14.3 seconds left in the contest, sophomore guard Terry Rozier took an ill-advised turnaround three pointer in heavy coverage after already having dribbled into the paint. True, it was an attempt that could have tied the score. On the other hand, it was the type of choice Stevens supposedly eschews: hero ball by an unproven commodity in the face of superior options.
In any case, Stevens was quick to take the blame. 鈥淚t鈥檚 disappointing,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 think you can look at it and say we all could have done better.鈥 And he鈥檚 right; while the Celtics missed rotation regulars Al Horford, Gordon Hayward, and Aaron Baynes, they had more than enough talent to prevail versus the also-undermanned Hornets. And as the prognoses moving forward leans to the negative, it isn鈥檛 simply because mental mistakes cost them a win yesterday. It鈥檚 because mental mistakes keep on costing them, as if they don鈥檛 learn — or, worse, can鈥檛 learn — from experience.
From any perspective, there can be no arguing that the Celtics are trending in the wrong direction. Their third straight setback has them down to fifth in East standings, with the difference between starting the playoffs at the TD Garden and on the road possibly determining their capacity to move on in light of their inconsistent performances. It鈥檚 not what Irving signed up for, and he鈥檚 bummed. And unless and until systemic improvements finally take root, he鈥檒l continue to have mood swings that figure to sway him when free agency comes calling in June.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since 大象传媒 introduced a Sports section in 1994.
