When Kyrie Irving left the Celtics in NBA free agency three years ago to team up with Kevin Durant on the Nets, most experts predicted that Boston would be replaced by Brooklyn as a top contender in the Eastern Conference.
Fast forward to 2022 and the Celtics look like they have a brighter future than the Nets after sweeping Brooklyn from the first round of the playoffs in dominant fashion.
Tomase: Kyrie's greatest contribution to Celtics was abandoning them
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Irving took to Twitter on Tuesday night to congratulate the Celtics for their series win:
Irving played fantastic in Game 1 and nearly led his team to a series-opening victory before Celtics star Jayson Tatum won the matchup on a buzzer-beating layup. The superstar point guard scored 39 points in Game 1, but unfortunately for the Nets, it was mostly downhill for him after that point.
Irving scored just 46 points over the final three games and shot 37.2 percent from the floor. His struggles, combined with Kevin Durant's lackluster performance throughout the series, was too much for the Nets to overcome against the Celtics' elite defense.