Ever since the Boston Celtics’ Cinderella run in the 2018 Eastern Conference Playoffs saw them knocking on the door of the NBA Finals, Boston’s need for the spectacle that is Kyrie Irving has been questioned by various parties.
Irving puts on a dazzling display of ball-handling, balance and shot-making on his drives and has grown into a complete player that competes defensively and remains focused on generating easy shots for his teammates even he’s heating up. His skillset, both the tangibles and intangibles, are difficult to replace.
Nonetheless, Boston has been successful without Irving (they’re now 9-2 without him this season) and are more likely to spread the ball around when he’s off the court.
However, the Celtics are deadliest when Irving is on the court and letting his talent take over games. Combine his playmaking with his performance in clutch situations and it’s clear why they’re better with him than without him.
Following Boston’s 118-110 win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens disputed the idea that the team plays better without superstar point guard Irving, telling reporters that Boston needs Irving “to be the best version” of themselves.
Irving is averaging 23.6 points, 6.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game this season while shooting 49.8 percent from the field, 40.9 percent from three and 86.6 percent from the charity stripe. While his traditional stats have been impressive, catch-all stats like win shares per 48 minutes (.219, ranked second on the Celtics) and VORP (3.4, ranked first on the Celtics), show that Irving isn’t just one of Boston’s main player but is the main player.
Rather than look at their success without him as an indictment of Irving, they should look at it as a reason to have confidence in and excitement for their depth. Nothing more and nothing less.
*All stats gathered from Basketball Reference
