"Kyrie left on bad terms and the fans are letting him know about it" - Vince Carter asserts Kyrie Irving is "just feeding the fire" by going at Boston Celtics fans

Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics fans have been going at it ever since he left for the Brooklyn Nets, but Vince Carter believes that Irving's most recent behavior is escalating the hatred.

Irving's return to Boston in front of a packed crowd has led to heightened vitriol.

The relationship between Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics fans has been one of the biggest stories of the playoffs because of the mutual disdain on display.

Vince Carter recently spoke about the situation during a recent interview and explained why both sides responded the way they have in the series.

"Kyrie left on bad terms and the fans are letting him know about it and they want to make sure when the former player comes in their building, they want to get under his under his skin because they know they can get under Kyrie's skin."

As Vince Carter acknowledged, Boston Celtics fans are finding ways to get under Kyrie Irving's skin and cause him to react to varying degrees during the game.

Carter believes that Irving needs to concentrate on basketball despite the way things went in game one of the Brooklyn-Boston series.

"I mean, the only reason he's reacted to it I was in that situation. And the thing that for me is to stay focused and stay engaged and stay in the moment and to do my job. Yes, you hear it. And some things are disrespectful, and you just have to go to the officials or the people who need to handle it and let them handle it."

Vince Carter also believes that Kyrie Irving's reactions are only antagonizing the Boston Celtics fans even more.

"Some guys handle things differently and he feels he needs to react to it and sometimes doing that, you're just feeding the; you're just feeding the fire. All they gonna do is come back more. If Kyrie comes in here, Game Two, and puts on a spectacular performance. The building will be quiet."

While Kyrie Irving did have a strong performance in Game One, the Boston Celtics kept the game competitive and put themselves in a position to win. If Brooklyn has to quieten the Celtics fans, they will need to win convincingly.

Despite Vince Carter's comments, others are supporting Kyrie Irving's approach to the Boston Celtics fans

Celtics fans were loud and hostile during their team's win.

Boston was a hostile venue for the Brooklyn Nets, but especially for Kyrie Irving, as the history between him and the Boston Celtics led to some obscene gestures.

While Vince Carter tried to talk Irving away from responding, Stephen A. Smith endorsed the response to some extent.

I support @KyrieIrving on this 1000% https://t.co/kwi8qJp2kO

Stephen A. Smith makes an important distinction because, while Irving is likely to be fined for his behavior, he responded in an entertaining way compared to other incidents.