Kyrie Irving: ‘Winning’s Hard. Team Environments Are Hard’

The Boston Celtics have lost four in a row, but Kyrie Irving sees “light at the end of all this.”

Brad Stevens admitted to frustration in the locker room following Sunday night’s 115-96 home loss to the San Antonio Spurs, in which LaMarcus Aldridge torched them for 48 points.

Irving concluded that “winning” and “team environments” are hard.

Per The Boston Herald:

Kyrie Irving, who said he doesn’t believe the Celtics are too reliant on jump shots, continues to push optimism, saying, “We’re still developing as a team, it’s been a whole season doing so, but there’s light at the end of all this. That’s probably where my patience will always lie, is knowing that something’s beyond this. This challenge is happening for a reason, and I’ve got to believe in that.”

As improbable as it might sound, though, Irving believes the players on his team are still trying to learn about one another.

“Winning’s hard. Team environments are hard. It’s not as simple as just listening to everybody else speak about what’s going on with our team. It’s hard being a professional athlete,” the Celtics guard said. “Being in a team environment and wanting to accomplish something very great, everyone always wants to say, ‘Oh you need to do this, you need to do that.’ Nobody (bleeping) knows. Nobody’s been in my position. Nobody here. I don’t expect anyone here to understand that. Everybody can just speak on it, and give their opinion about what would be best for it. But for me, my focus is figuring out the guys I have in this locker room, how to get the best out of them, and them to get the best out of me. It’s been hard, but it’s a challenge worth fighting for because the end result is standing on that stage.”

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