Kendrick Perkins Rips 'Disrespectful' Kyrie Irving
Kendrick Perkins Rips “Disrespectful” Kyrie Irving After Celtics’ Playoff Exit: “He Can’t Carry His Own Team”
Source: Ronald Martinez / Getty
The aftermath of the Boston Celtics’ defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks will sting for quite some time. After Terry Rozier’s comments about certain players only looking to get their numbers, former Celtics center Kendrick Perkins had something to say to one Kyrie Irving.
After Irving’s dreadful performance in the Celtics’ second-round loss to Milwaukee, Big Perk didn’t take kindly with how the star point guard handled himself as a team leader. He tells Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd that Irving’s attitude was “disrespectful” to the city of Boston and their fans.
He states:
“In this series, I think Kyrie, the way he went about it was disrespectful to the city of Boston, was disrespectful to the organization. And he didn’t represent what Celtic pride is all about. I spent my first eight-and-a-half years of my career in Boston, and those fans are unbelievable, the organization is unbelievable, the history of the franchise in itself is unbelievable.
“And the way Kyrie went about it, ‘OK, yeah, I struggled. OK, on to the next game.’ Kinda like the, ‘I don’t care’ attitude. Just basically, throughout the whole process, I thought he had got it, but he was just a bad leader and he didn’t represent was Celtic pride was about. It was proven, in my opinion, he’s not a Batman. He’s a great player, Kyrie is an elite player, but he’s not a Batman. He’s a Batman when he’s on the team with LeBron (James), but he’s not a Batman. He can’t carry his own team.”
After an impressive Game 1 against the Bucks, Irving would close out the last four games averaging 19 points on 30% from the field and 18.5% from three. After the Game 4 loss at home, which most than likely will be his last home game in Boston, Irving was nonchalant about his underwhelming shooting performances. He would respond by saying “who cares?” before proclaiming that he is a basketball and it’s part of the game:
“I’m a basketball player, prepare the right way. Like I said, it’s a little different when your rhythm is challenged every play down. You’re being picked up full court, they are doing things to test you. The expectations on me are going to be sky-high. I try to utilize their aggression against them and still put my teammates in great position while still being aggressive. I am trying to do it all.”
With tensions continuing to rise in the wake of Boston’s disappointing season and Irving’s impending free agency, it is safe to say that this might be the last time we see Kyrie Irving in a Celtic’s jersey.
