CLEVELAND -- Mookie Betts was standing near his locker Tuesday night, chatting with a few reporters after the Boston Red Sox's 9-1 victory, when third-base coach Brian Butterfield interrupted with an urgent question.
"Kyrie Irving," Butterfield blurted out, almost too excited to say the name. "What do you think?"
"I think he'll be fine," Betts said quietly, "especially with Brad Stevens. With Brad Stevens, I think he'll be good."
Satisfied by the answer, Butterfield marched off in the direction of the showers. But there was something in the tone of Betts' voice, an unconcealed disappointment, that seemed to mirror the feelings of most Boston Celtics fans in the aftermath of the blockbuster trade that brought Irving from the Cleveland Cavaliers.