Tag: Kyrie Irving

Does Kyrie Irving fit in Boston

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The numbers that Kyrie Irving has put up over 7 seasons in the NBA are great, Kyrie is obviously a great basketball talent, there is no question about that. But can Irving allow Brad Stevens to coach his game – instead of trying to be the main course? Given what Boston did last year in the playoffs – they have some experience, having a healthy Gordon Hayward and a superstar now, they should be much better. I just don’t feel like Kyrie loves the system. The successful system that got the Boston Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals last season.
Without him.
From how well the Celtics were playing at the end of last season and into the playoffs it just looks far different from what we have watched this season.
I don’t think he has fully bought into Brad Stevens’ system and the Celtics culture, Stevens has shown that he has a specific system and it has worked, for 6 seasons, and going 197- 116 (.629) since 2015. Getting to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, with a very average roster, which showcased talents like Terry Rozier and Jaylen Brown.
Boston is set up as a team to keep games close – if Kyrie could play within the offense for the first 3 quarters – get others involved throughout, keep Tatum getting his shots, let Gordon Hayward have his looks, then he can begin his showcase for the final 6-7 minutes of the game, I feel it would be more effective. The C’s offense is free flowing where everyone has a part in their offense, for Irving though – it is all about taking over the game. He should know when and how, by now. He is great at the end of games, with accurate shooting and a wicked scoring touch, and Kyrie has a clutch gene, as he has shown with his several outbursts in his career. With his awesome performances in the 2015 finals – he was beyond dynamite when the lights were on. And the biggest issue will be in the postseason when Boston is going up against powerhouse teams, that can put up huge points and have several guys who can score 20 or 30 – they need him because he can take over and score buckets in close games.
He’s shown to be a great player, but when he stops and dribbles for 8-10 seconds it ruins the rhythm of the offense. Guys start milling around – looking at him, then back at the shot clock, waiting to see what he is going to do with the ball. Is he going to dribble until 2 seconds and shoot – or dribble, drive and kick out for a bad three point shot? Irving is then being a detriment to the functionality of Boston. It is those times, on the court, the other players seem bored and almost annoyed with him during the games. Gordon Hayward has played better when Kyrie isn’t playing. With more shots and more confidence – he shows his ability, the C’s seem to play much better, as a team, when Kyrie is not on the court. Boston shoots better, passes better, and they play team ball, the ball moves around, and gets all of the guys involved. Jaylen Brown and Al Horford also play better. It is quite possible they are better off without Kyrie Irving.
If we are being honest, though, at this time, the Boston Celtics are not winning a championship with Kyrie. The Celtics aren’t going to win it without him either. Not as long as Golden State is still running the West with their All-Star team. They bought a team that is so over the top and there is no team right now that I can see being able to handle their talent and firepower. It is extremely tough to compete for a championship in the NBA anymore without having a stacked team across the board. We live in the “players era” – where the top teams need 3-4 guys who can score close to 20/game.
The truth is, they may play better without Kyrie – but without Kyrie Irving they are not winning a title. He’s a big-time superstar and when playoff crunch time comes around – he shows up. Boston is a good team – but as we watched last year play out – when a superstar took it to the next level, they weren’t able to respond. So with that – the Celtics may as well keep Kyrie on the floor as that “just in case” player. Kyrie gives them a threat to have a punchers chance to punch back.

Can Kyrie Irving be the leader in Cleveland

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Kyrie

When Kyrie Irving came out in 2011 from Duke, he only had 11 games behind him, hardly a lot of games, by any regulation. But he still came in highly touted as being an astonishing talented player who had extremely high potential. His rookie season was fantastic, scoring 18.5 a night, finding time to get 5.4 dimes a game, with a team with Lester Hudson (who?) and 35 year old Antawn Jamison as his main go-to options to score the ball. While the Cavs struggled with an awful 21-45 record. But Irving certainly was the best of the rookies that year, winning Rookie of the Year.

Coming in at such a tender age of 18, and being handed “leader of a team” so quickly is evidently not something that most regular folks can really comprehend. He has always had a knack for scoring the ball, and he has had no problems in that facet of his game. but at this point in his career, as a PG in the NBA, he needs to get his team more active. He finally has some legitimate talent around him to score the rock. Keep players involved, get them the ball, open the game up. This is a far contrasting team now than in 2011.

Because of this scoring mind frame that many of the young stars of the league have, there are some nights, where Kyrie looks a bit selfish on the court. And some nights where he looks like he can be the best point guard in the league, when he is dishing 10 assists and winning games with his game control, and nights where he seems overrated, where he is turning the ball over 8 times, not distributing the ball well, and looking solely for his own shot. Expert handicapper TonyK of VegasTopDogs beleives the Cavs are a sleeper team for the second half of the NBA Season.

With the addition of Luol Deng, who can score the ball (18.4/PPG), young upstart, Dion Waiters (14.8/PPG) and 3 year PF, coming into his own Tristan Thompson (12.2/ PPG) he has the talent around him. He has no defense, nor do the Cavs for not moving the team headfirst. In particular with Luol Deng in town, the Cavs are formally ready for better play.

As long as Irving proceeds to develop, and gets his APG up to around 7-8 a game, cut his shots down to maybe 15, let Deng be the scoring option 1, let him get 18-19 shots, they could make a genuine run at the playoffs. Not saying they are a serious playoff challenger by any means, but they could be a 40-45 win team, and make it electric for Cleveland fans, who haven’t had anything to cheer about since LeBron James was dominating.

Kyrie Irving has a very high ceiling at only 21, I see a bright future for him and the Cavs, as long as he stays diligent and learns to trust his teammates. Irving no longer is strained to lead them exclusively, which is a good thing for the Cavs as a whole.