Irving is ready for return to ‘rowdy’ Cleveland
CLEVELAND — Kyrie Irving is back where his NBA journey began six years ago.
There are familiar faces, and some that won’t be as friendly as he remembered them.
Traded to Boston this summer after he demanded the Cavaliers deal him so he could escape LeBron James’ shadow, Irving will make his regularseason debut Tuesday night with the Celtics against his former team — and fans who loved him, but may no longer be as adoring.
“Little different,” Irving said in assessing the scene following the Celtics’ morning shootaround. “I think it will probably be even more different later on tonight. But I’m excited for the challenge.”
When Irving takes the floor in Quicken Loans Arena, the all-star point guard will get the kind of reception he was accustomed to when he visited Boston or Golden State or Detroit while playing for Cleveland.
But following a turbulent summer — and spiced up by his recent slap at Cleveland’s fans — he’ll be greeted with boos, taunts, heckles and other unpleasant vulgarities. There will be some hard to hear cheers.
“I know that I’ve seen the end of being down there on that other bench and fans booing the opponents and understanding that Cleveland fans want their home team to win. So I expect the same thing.”
Irving, has been vague about what exactly drove him to leave one of the league’s best teams. Given the chance to explain his motives a few hours before the opener, Irving was ambiguous with his answer.
“I kind of want to put that to rest in terms of everyone figuring out or trying to continue to dive into a narrative they have no idea about and probably will never, ever be divulged because it’s not important,” he said. “This was literally just a decision I wanted to make solely based on my happiness and pushing my career forward. I don’t want to pinpoint anything, I will never pinpoint anything because that’s not what real grown-ups do.”
The Cavs have planned a video “thank you” for Irving, who made the biggest shot in franchise history — a step-back three-pointer in the waning moments of Game 7 of the NBA finals that lifted Cleveland to a title, the city’s first in 52 years.
‰For season-opening NBA action between Boston and Cleveland, see therecord.com.