Kyrie Irving. (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- Celtics All-Star Kyrie Irving's been out since March 11 with a knee injury, and he had season-ending surgery April 7.
But, he said in an interview on ESPN's SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt he's in a great place in his recovery.
Still, it's hard to miss the playoffs and have to go through so much rehab.
"Definitely incredibly difficult, but patience is, it's true it's virtue," he said. "I try to hold a lot of my principles to the highest esteem for myself in order to grow. You try to not separate it from basketball in life, but it always has correlation to one another."
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Brown exited a Game 7 win early with a hamstring strain, missed the opener with the Sixers, and is doubtful for Game 2.
Celtics hold a 1-0 series lead on the Sixers heading into Game 2 tonight at 8:30 p.m. Irving said he's really enjoying watching Boston's youngsters succeed.
"You know, the way they're playing right now, they're playing like experienced veterans," he said. "I'm just nothing but proud of them, as well as Brad Stevens and the coaching staff."
Irving's been watching from the bench and said he's trying to stay as involved and engaged as possible.
Hear more from Irving below.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Adam Kaufman reports