Still-sore Irving latest to seek second opinion
Brad Stevens’ phrase for what ails Kyrie Irving is “continued soreness” in his left knee.
In this case, though, continued soreness has led to the second player in a week who needs a second doctor’s opinion on his injury.
Stevens confirmed last night that Irving will get a second opinion on what’s wrong with his left knee, which went under the knife for a fractured kneecap suffered in Game 1 of the 2015 NBA Finals.
Irving, as a result, will not travel with the team when it flies out today for a four-city western road trip that includes stops in Portland, Sacramento, Phoenix and Salt Lake City.
But asked if the team has discussed surgery options with the guard, who was previously thought to be suffering from tendinitis, the Celtics coach said, “I have not talked to him, and don’t want to speak for others.”
As far as playing without Irving for longer than expected, including the playoffs, Stevens used general terms.
“Every minute of every day, we get ready with who is available,” he said before last night’s win against Oklahoma City. “We’ve played a lot of games without a lot of players this year. It’s been quite a challenge in that regard, and probably no week has been more challenging than the last couple, especially coming off how we played right out of the break . . . . You have to get ready to go, and that’s what we do.”
For the short term, anyway, Irving will be out of public view. Though he missed a game in December because of the soreness, last night marked his fourth straight DNP.
“Just continued soreness is what’s made the decision not to play tonight, and made the decision to not go on the trip and seek outside counsel,” Stevens said. “It’s not new pain by any means, nothing new. Continued soreness.
“So still the same thing that we’ve talked about. That knee has been sore. But he worked really hard to manage it throughout the entire season, and I think he’s had some pretty good days recently, so I’m encouraged by it in the big picture,” he said. “He’s going to get a second opinion. That’s why he probably won’t go on the trip. And again, I think that’s smart of him, but I haven’t talked with him yet since that decision was made. Or I haven’t talked to Danny (Ainge) or our staff about it.”
Irving has taken up another seat in the trainer’s waiting room next to Marcus Smart, who won’t return until the playoffs, and permanent 2017-18 scratches Gordon Hayward and Daniel Theis.
But there was a sign of changing fortune. Jaylen Brown, who missed his fifth game because of a concussion, actually took the Garden floor for some shooting before last night’s game.
“That is good news,” Stevens said of Brown’s lowstress workout. “So Jaylen has gone through continued progressions and is going in the right direction.”
Asked if Brown will join the team on its four-city road trip, Stevens said, “I believe so.”