BOSTON — In retrospect, Kyrie Irving said he should’ve bowed to the banners and the leprechaun.
Now, he’s the enemy needing a miracle to prevent Celtics championship No. 18.
“You have to show your respect here. I think that’s what I struggled with initially, was figuring out how I’m going to be a great player here while winning championships and also leading a team and selflessly joining the Celtics’ organization, or the cult that they have here,” Irving said ahead of Monday’s Game 5, with his Mavericks in a 3-1 series hole. “That’s what they expect you to do as a player. They expect you to seamlessly buy into the Celtics’ pride, buy into everything Celtics. And if you don’t, then you’ll be outed.
“I’m one of the people that’s on the outs.”
“On the outs” is an understatement from Irving, who has been more like Satan to Celtics fans after leaving the franchise in free agency in 2019.
More recently, Irving acknowledged he didn’t handle his two-season tenure well while dealing with personal problems, most notably the death of his grandfather.
But there hasn’t been much forgiveness from the Celtics faithful.
He’s been booed at every appearance inside TD Garden since bolting for the Nets, and their revenge is the record.
Before Dallas won Game 4 to avoid an NBA Finals sweep, Irving’s teams had lost 13 straight games to the Celtics.
He hasn’t won at TD Garden in over three years.
His first two games in the NBA Finals — both in Boston — were a disaster for Irving, who shot 35 percent and averaged just 14 points.
It bolstered the belief that Irving is crumbling under the vitriol. Irving was much better in the two games in Dallas, where he averaged 28 points.
“I mean, let’s just call it what it is,” Irving said. “When the fans are cheering, ‘Kyrie sucks,’ they feel like they have a psychological edge, and that’s fair. Of course, if I’m not making shots or turning the ball over, that makes it even more of a pressing issue that they can stay on me for.”
From Boston’s perspective, clinching a title at home against Irving would feel like karmic retribution: The final — and most important — victory over the player that spurned the Celtics and once stepped on the leprechaun logo at midcourt.
It also would break a 16-year Celtics championship drought and give the franchise a record-breaking 18th title, breaking a tie with the Lakers.
Even after being trounced by 38 points in Friday’s Game 4, Boston is heavily favored to win Monday and pop champagne.
The Celtics haven’t lost at home since May 9.
“This is what we all work for,” said Celtics forward Jaylen Brown, the front-runner for NBA Finals MVP. “We are at the precipice of completing what we set out to do at the beginning of the season.
“So I think it’s not difficult to get everybody in that locker room on the same page right now. It just needs to remind everybody that it’s just one possession at a time. We do it together and we fight like our lives depend on it, and I think we’ll be all right.”
Winning a championship and eliminating Irving on the same night in Boston is firmly on the table.
It’s a Celtics fan’s dream. Or the next step of a nightmare if the Mavericks somehow win the next three games.
“It’s going to be special,” Celtics center Al Horford said. “It’s going to be special [Monday]. It’s going to be electric. The fans, they’ve wanted to be a part of an opportunity and game of this magnitude with a chance that we have in front of us.”
