Kevin Durant is the Only Person Who Can Reel Kyrie Irving in

By now you're all aware that Kyrie Irving didn't make the trip to TD Garden for the Brooklyn Nets' clash against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night, a game that would have marked his first return to Beantown since departing in free agency this past summer.

Despite him not being in the building, Celtics fans eviscerated Irving pretty much whenever they felt like it.

After the game, however, the All-Star point guard took to Instagram to sound off on fans who don't consider the mental makeup of professional athletes when they jeer them to no end.

Kevin Durant came to his defense on Twitter, and it looks like he may need to get used to reeling Irving in. We'd like to say that Irving should confide in his other Nets teammates, but KD knows exactly what the Duke product is going through in terms of backlash on social media.

Durant made enemies with every basketball fan outside of Oakland when he elected to sign with the Warriors back in the summer of 2016. Heck, a lot of fans probably still haven't forgiven him.

The Slim Reaper, as we know, overcame the disdain sent his way and proved to be the most important player on a back-to-back championship-winning squad. In the end, and especially after his Achilles injury, he won back the love of NBA fans.

Publicly supporting Irving on social media is a great start, but, for the sake of the Nets, and more importantly his mental health, Durant needs to continue to offer support to his new teammate.