Tommy Heinsohn gives health update, slams Kyrie Irving critics

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Tommy Heinsohn returned to NBC Sports Boston's Celtics broadcast via the phone during Friday night's matchup vs the Mavericks.

Heinsohn had been missing from C's broadcasts since late November due to what his doctors believe might be a sleep disorder. He expanded on his current health situation during the second quarter.

"I'm feeling terrific right now," Heinsohn said. "I think we're zeroing in on what's been bothering me. I always thought I was sleeping, but I guess I wasn't, but we shall find out. I'm going for sleep tests in the middle of the week, but the people here at New England Rehab have been terrific."

You can listen to Heinsohn's full update on his health in the clip below:

After addressing his health, Heinsohn went on to slam critics of Kyrie Irving's shot volume in classic Tommy fashion.

"The other thing I'd like to address that was getting me very angry was the 33 shots that Kyrie took (against the 76ers) and there were people lambasting him because he took 33 shots," Heinsohn said. "Let me tell you: I'm glad he takes those 33 shots! There's a superstar that knows how to affect the basketball game and when to affect it. He doesn't take 33 shots every game, but when it's needed, he will deliver."

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"Kyrie, to me, is just a fantastic player," Heinsohn continued. "The thing that I marveled at last year was that he came in, he didn't dominate the play, he tried to fit in, and he did fit in, but he knew when to step up his game to turn the direction of the team when they needed a boost. So he's a psychological player that I haven't seen around in a long time, and he's also a gutsy guy to even want to try to do stuff like that. So anybody that's after Kyrie, I want to punch them in the nose!"

It's like Tommy never left.

While there's no official date for Heinsohn's anticipated return, his longtime colleague Mike Gorman said hopefully when the C's come back from the next road trip, Tommy will be back at the Garden. To that, Heinsohn replied, "Hopefully!"

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