“They don’t have the monkey on their back” - Shaquille O'Neal on Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving’s nonchalant response after getting swept by the Celtics

Shaquille O'Neal has a very interesting take why Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving seemed unaffected by the sweep against the Boston Celtics. [Photo: Yahoo! Sports]

Shaquille O'Neal and the NBA on TNT crew witnessed how Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving desperately tried to prevent the Boston Celtics from sweeping the Brooklyn Nets. Durant played his best game of the series while Irving had another forgettable outing.

Outside of Ben Simmons’ no-show, which got a severe tongue-lashing from Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley, it was Brooklyn’s immediate post-game reactions that grabbed the limelight.

On an episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, the Hall-of-Fame center would explain why KD and Irving seemed nonchalant following a humiliating sweep.

“Cause you know why? Cause they don’t have the monkey on their back. Doesn’t matter what happened. They retire right now, you can never say they ain’t got no championship, so it don’t matter. That’s all we care about, that ring. So, ‘Oh, you guys got swept?... Yeah, but I still got the ring.’”

Nischelle Turner and Spice Adams, O’Neal’s co-hosts, also observed that the sight looked jarring, particularly after the Brooklyn Nets were heavy favorites even days before the playoffs.

Jayson Tatum hugs Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving after #Celtics win Game 4 https://t.co/peU6tp44Ef

After the final buzzer sounded, there were the usual hugs and shows of sportsmanship, but Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving hardly looked affected by what just happened. To Durant’s credit, he looked entirely different in the postgame interview, where he looked deflated and weary.

Shaquille O'Neal’s comments when it concerned Durant were a little overboard. Nobody in the Brooklyn Nets has cared more over the last three years than the former MVP. The Boston Celtics’ otherworldly defense was no excuse for the loss, but KD put everything on the floor.

The same cannot be said of Kyrie Irving, though. Shaquille O’Neal’s comments were accurate and unbiased. Irving was a big reason for the Nets’ embarrassing season but seemed in a jovial mood immediately after the game and during the postgame interview.

Kyrie Irving isn’t getting enough slander for averaging 15.3 PPG on 37.2 FG% and 18.2 3P% in the last 3 Games.

He played worse than Kevin Durant that series. https://t.co/WrLjmWH2Re

Irving does have several good friends on the opposing team, but his actions since signing up for Brooklyn give more complete context to his behavior.

As Shaquille O'Neal pointed out, it was Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving who were the superstars that had the championship rings in the series

Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are NBA champions already. [Photo: NetsDaily]

Heading into the Boston Celtics versus Brooklyn Nets series was the undercard of both teams’ dynamic duos. Brooklyn had what is considered to be by many the most skilled tandem in NBA history in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

Both are battle-scarred veterans with championship rings to prove their mettle. Durant won two with the Golden State Warriors, while Irving grabbed one with the Cleveland Cavaliers as LeBron James’ best sidekick.

The duo that badly outplayed them were also battle-proven in the playoffs at such a young age, but don’t have the hardware to show for their troubles. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were clearly the better combo and upstaged their more illustrious counterparts.

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have swept 3 straight 1st-round series together.

4-0 vs. Brooklyn in 2022
4-0 vs. Philadelphia in 2020
4-0 vs. Indiana in 2019

The last time they lost a 1st-round game together was exactly 4 years ago today vs. Milwaukee when Jayson was a rookie. https://t.co/eZx6HpDtLy

Despite the disparity in championship experience, it was the Celtics’ teamwork, chemistry and defense anchored on their two selfless superstars who got the job done.