Kyrie Irving: 'For Me, It's Just Moving On to the Next Thing'
The Boston Celtics' five-game ouster from the Eastern Conference semifinals at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks prompted Celtics coach Brad Stevens to say he "did a bad job" leading his team through a one-sided series. Several Boston players were also reflective following a 116–91 season-ending defeat on Wednesday.
"Truth be told, it's no time to be disappointed," Kyrie Irving told reporters. "You take your lessons, you take your ass-whooping that they handed us, and you move on. It's a basketball journey. Obviously, you want to keep playing, but they put a halt to that. And they deserved this series. They played like they wanted it."
After winning Game 1 of the series, the Celtics dropped each of the next four contests, bringing what's been a tumultuous campaign to a bitter end. Boston appeared to have chemistry issues arise throughout the middle of the season, with Irving at the middle of it. Despite appearing to resolve their issues ahead of the postseason, it wasn't enough for the Celtics to surpass their postseason results from a season ago, when they came one game within reaching the NBA Finals.
Guard Terry Rozier expressed gratitude with his friends and family for their support.
"Because I've been dealing with some bulls--t," Rozier said, per The Athletic's Jay King. "I feel like we all still had that one goal. It wasn't easy on coach dealing with a lot of guys that want to be great trying to get theirs."
Meanwhile, Irving's future with the club remains unknown. He appeared to be in a foresightful mood following the loss.
"You know the taste of feeling defeat in this type of style, being down 1–4, I haven't felt," Irving said. "For me, it's just moving on to the next thing, and just seeing where that ends up."
