Kyrie Irving missed 15 of his 22 shot attempts in Boston’s 113-101 Game 4 loss Monday night, and says he should have taken even more shots.
“I’m that great of a shooter,” Irving told reporters.
Giannis Antetokounmpo finished the Celtics with 39 points (on 15-of-22 shooting), giving the Milwaukee Bucks a commanding 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Per The Boston Herald:
Asked about leaving the floor early, he said, “The game was over.”
Asked about his shooting night, he said, “I’m trying to do it all. For me, the 22 shots, I should have shot 30. I’m that great of a shooter.”
Irving, though, wants more of that burden, more of a chance to flex his leadership.
“When the ball doesn’t go in the rim, the energy of the basketball can translate into the other end as well. That’s just basketball 101,” he said. “That’s a choice that we have to make. And just being more communicative. It’s a natural thing as an individual when your shots aren’t going in to be thinking about that shot as you go down in a defensive position. It can take you out mentally what the other team is running, especially in the playoffs where possessions are magnified unbelievably. It’s been a consistent thing for us that we haven’t made shots and the defensive end of the floor has taken lapses. But it just can’t happen going forward. We have no choice. At this point it’s do or die.”
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