‘Perfunctory feel’ to Boston Celtics’ outclassing of division foe without polarizing ex-star

According to The New York Post’s Brian Lewis, there was a “perfunctory feel” to the Boston Celtics’ dismantling of the Brooklyn Nets on their home floor; one that didn’t feature the famed parquette for the first time in TD Garden history.

The reason? Well, one of them was the lack of Kyrie Irving on the Nets’ side after leaving Boston in the summer of 2019 following a season-long flirtation with Spencer Dinwiddie to defect to the Nets.

“Friday didn’t have the same venom that Nets visits to Boston have had over the past few years, when former Celtic Kyrie Irving was around and the emerald-clad locals whipped themselves in a frenzy,” Lewis prefaced before saying, “This had more of a perfunctory feel. The Nets played hard throughout, but in the end they were playing out of their league. The Nets had no answer for the Celtics’ stars.”

Kyrie Irving may have finally found his perfect home after failed stints with Boston Celtics and Nets

At 7-2, the Dallas Mavericks are the team to beat in the Western Conference outside of the defending champions, the Denver Nuggets. That’s how it seems, anyway.

Irving may have finally found the perfect home with the Mavs alongside Luka Doncic and a cast of high-potential youth. While a championship seems like a long shot still, given the lack of playoff experience on the roster, there is harmony with Irving that no franchise has yet seen.

Does that last? There’s no way of telling. But Dallas has put the league on high alert with its inspiring play through the first nine games of the season. And that was certainly not expected given the way the 2022-23 season ended in the Metroplex.

After demanding a trade from the first team he ever played with, the Cleveland Cavaliers, just a year and a few months removed from a championship only to alienate the Celtics and Nets fanbases, Irving has made things right in his 14th season. And it only took two trade demands a highly-public and toxic split from Boston in free agency before that happened.