Morning sports update: Charles Barkley doesn’t think Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are ‘tough enough’ to play in New York
Also: New York reactions to the Odell Beckham trade, a local stadium upgrade, and Celtics trivia.
Northeastern men’s basketball will be dancing in the NCAA Tournament following their surprising 82-74 win over favored Hofstra in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament final on Monday.
CAREER HIGH FOR THE SENIOR!!!
S-E-V-E-N treys for Pusica. 21 points.
Huskies up 74-68. pic.twitter.com/l5LC1CIwRh
— Northeastern Men’s Basketball (@GoNUmbasketball) March 13, 2019
It will be the ninth tournament appearance for the men’s team, and its first since 2015.
Elsewhere, the Bruins lost to the Blue Jackets in Columbus, 7-4. Boston now travels to Winnipeg to play the Jets on Thursday at 8 p.m. Also, the Celtics will be back at TD Garden on Thursday to play the Kings at 7:30 p.m.
Charles Barkley’s take on Kyrie and KD to New York: The speculation over what impending free agents Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant will do in the summer continues apace across the NBA. One prominent rumor has been that the duo would team up in New York.
But Charles Barkley, perpetually outspoken on a range of NBA topics, doesn’t think the two stars have the requisite mental toughness to endure playing on what is potentially the league’s biggest stage.
Asked by Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina about Durant and Irving in New York, Barkley elaborated:
More Barkley: ” I dont think Durant or Kyrie are tough enough to play in NY. Kyrie’s a very good player. Kevin’s a great, great player. But Im not sure they have the mental make up to play in NY. Those guys are complaining about the media asking questions. Maybe NY isnt for them.
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) March 12, 2019
While Irving said in October that he planned on re-signing in Boston, some of his statements since then have called his future with the Celtics into question.
Trivia: Can you name the players the Celtics have drafted straight out of high school?
Hint: One of them was responsible for the “Birthday Cake” dunk.
More from Boston.com:
- Kyrie Irving trusts the Celtics. Should anyone else?
- Patriots fans have come to accept that talented players can be replaced
- Jets reportedly agree to sign Le’Veon Bell
- 3 takeaways from the Bruins’ 7-4 loss to the Blue Jackets
- Russell Westbrook fined, Utah Jazz fan banned for altercation
- Browns to acquire Odell Beckham Jr. from Giants
- Jerry Remy asserts, ‘I feel as good as I’ve ever felt’
- Sports Q: What was the best one-year association between a Boston athlete and team?
Cannons plan upgrade for Veterans Memorial Stadium: The Boston Cannons, a Major League Lacrosse franchise, will be settling in at a new home when the season starts in June. And in a recent announcement, the Cannons revealed that the team will implement a $1.5 million series of improvement to Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy, which is where they will play their home games. [The Boston Globe]
The New York Daily News was stunned by the Odell Beckham trade. Not even a headline pun:
Wednesday’s back page…
Jets ⬆️
Giants ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/0Ut6fLYNiK— NY Daily News Sports (@NYDNSports) March 13, 2019
Al Horford is on board with Marcus Smart’s suggestion for the Celtics:
Marcus Smart said the Celtics just need to clean up some communication issues and then everything will be fine. Al Horford chimes in: “preach.”
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) March 12, 2019
Jalen Rose “really respects” Kyrie Irving’s recent comments:
On this day: In 1915, Brooklyn Dodgers manager Wilbert Robinson agreed to try and catch a baseball from a low flying plane while his team was in Daytona Beach for spring training. Flown by Massachusetts native (and flying legend) Ruth Law, the plane made its way overhead. Unbeknownst to Robinson, Law decided to drop a grapefruit instead of a baseball.
Positioning himself for the catch, Robinson got underneath the falling grapefruit, only to have it splatter all over him upon impact. Thinking he had been gravely wounded (mistaking the fruit’s juice for his own blood), Robinson cried out to his players, who were standing by laughing at him.
This, according to MLB.com, is why Florida’s spring training league is still called the “Grapefruit League.”
Daily highlight: Northeastern’s Vasa Pusica nailed seven three-pointers in the Huskies’ conference championship game victory on Monday, including several from NBA range.
FIFTH of the game.
Someone is in the zone. #HowlinHuskies pic.twitter.com/ScdJLfPl9A
— Northeastern Men’s Basketball (@GoNUmbasketball) March 13, 2019
Trivia answers: Al Jefferson in 2004 and Gerald Green in 2005. Kendrick Perkins was not actually drafted by the Celtics, but arrived in Boston shortly afterward in a trade with the Grizzlies.
