Too good to miss--Kyrie Irving squanders opportunities at the line by actually hitting his free throws



Kyrie Irving has stepped up to the free throw line three times this season with an intention to miss. Except he can't quite figure out how to do it successfully.


"I suck at them," Irving said. "I've been probably up there five [or] four times and I've failed every single time at trying to miss on purpose. I don't know. Don't ask me. I keep telling my teammates, 'I'm not good at missing.' I'm not."

Two of those three times were in the final seconds on Saturday night's tilt with the Houston Rockets. If Kyrie had managed to miss the free throws--and then miraculously the Celtics get the rebound--Boston could have forced overtime in the Toyota Center in downtown Houston.

Instead, Irving sank one off the backboard and missed the rim entirely, a violation, on his second attempt.

It's a foreign concept for a star who has hit 87.5% of the free throws he's taken over his entire NBA career. But it's actually causing frustration for the 25-year-old via Chris Forsberg:


"I'm serious. Just to think that I have to become better [at missing] in order for our team to have a chance at the end of the game, that I have to miss on purpose. ... I don't know. Sounds asinine. But it's pissing me off right now to think about it."

You can't pin the loss on Kyrie and his inability to miss a free throw. The C's threw away the game in the final seconds forcing Irving to have to even attempt the feat. Three turnovers in the final minute and a half of the game handed the lead back to the Rockets.

It may still be in Kyrie's interest to start practicing grabbing rebounds he puts off the front of the rim, though.

Follow Topher Lane @Topher_L. Photo credit: Erik Williams / USA TODAY Sports.