1. Kyrie Irving in Boston: Nov. 27
Optimism was plentiful within the Boston Celtics organization before the 2018-19 season.
Kyrie Irving’s return from injury was supposed to elevate the reigning conference finals participants into the realm of championship contenders. A pending free agent, Irving seemed to commit to Boston long-term when he revealed a plan to re-sign with the Cs during a fan event at TD Garden.
Things were going according to plan until they weren’t. Fair or not, Kyrie attracted most of the blame for Boston’s chaotic and underwhelming season that saw a team many had easily pegged for the Finals flounder in a five-game second-round defeat.
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In that conference semifinals matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks, Irving already seemed out the door, averaging 20.4 points per game while shooting 35.6 percent from the field and 21.9 from deep.
Celtics fans seemed to have cut the cord as well by that point, but they are not a forgiving bunch and won’t be when Irving makes the return they never thought he would. Neither will the likes of Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum and all of Kyrie’s former teammates who want to show off the full array of skills he may have stifled.
Tutored at the Mamba school of thought, Irving won’t be one to let this game melt together with the other 81 either.
He’s never shied away from the games that mean more than the final score. Coupled with an alpha role on the Brooklyn Nets, and Kyrie should have a back-and-forth with the entirety of Boston that checks all the boxes as an early candidate for game of the year.