FanPost

Celtics Better With Or Without Irving?

Anyone who has come into contact with any form of Celtics-related social media over the course of this season might agree that the general sentiment and morale floating around the team rises and falls as steadily and predictably as a sine wave. The Celtics' own Facebook account echoed a similar idea in a post on January 13th, declaring: "Saturday's loss to Orlando, similar to our season thus far, was all about peaks and valleys" (1).

If you are looking for evidence of this attitudinal flip-flopping, I invite you to surf the green and white waves of the Boston Celtics Reddit page (for those who are not aware, Reddit is a vast online forum on which users can find and post almost anything that one would expect to find on the Internet: images and GIFs, news articles, advice on a vast array of topics, hot-takes about sports teams, etc.). Following inspiring Celtics victories such as the one against the Philadelphia 76ers on Christmas Day, the page will be full of nerve-tingling excitement, with user posts elatedly screaming--if screaming is possible through text--declarations of optimism and love for the team. One post made after the aforementioned Christmas Day victory states in capital letters: "THE CELTICS HAVE WON ON CHRISTMAS DAY, EVERYBODY DO THE BANNER 18 CHRISTMAS BOOGIE" (2), seemingly implying that the Celtics are on their way to winning this year's NBA title.

However, following inexplicable losses against teams that, with all due respect, the Celtics should be able to handle with fair ease, the Celtics Reddit water is much more choppy. Users puzzle over what could be wrong with the team, and often call for trades to be made.

To put it plainly, the Celtics have been inconsistent this season: the team has beaten powerful contenders like the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks while dropping games to weaker teams such as the Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks. Amidst the turmoil that this inconsistency has cooked up, fans have unsurprisingly begun to question whether the team is built and run correctly. And one of the points of doubt that has arisen from such questioning debates whether the Celtics need Kyrie Irving or not.

Since Irving's last game of the 2017-2018 regular season, the Celtics are 23-16 without him (3, 4, 6)--a record that is better percentage-wise than the team's current 2018-2019 regular season record. In addition, there are occasions on which Irving's absence seems to bring out the best versions of the team's young players. For one, Irving's backup Terry Rozier plays much better when Irving is out. Again looking at games since Irving's last appearance of 2017-2018, Rozier has averaged 15.3 points, 5.4 assists, and 5.5 rebounds in games that Irving does not play (5)--statistics that are significantly better than the 8.5 PPG, 2.8 APG, and 4.0 RPG that Rozier has posted thus far during the 2018-2019 regular season (5). And who can forget the accelerated maturation that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown displayed during last year's playoff run, the entirety of which developed without Irving?

But opposing this anti-Irving argument is one that roots itself in something less tangible than statistics. It is one that becomes clear to Celtics fans when they watch Irving perform on the court, one that turns compelling whenever Irving carries the Celtics to victory in heroic fashion. Irving is one of those unique "star" players, boasting jaw-dropping skills, an ability to take over games at will, and sub-zero temperature in his veins. And that is why the Celtics need him.

I find myself being convinced by each of these arguments at different points in time. After the Celtics lay big fat eggs with Irving on the court, it is hard not to wonder whether something major needs to change. But when Irving goes off for 40-plus points against tough opponents, it is impossible for me not to drop to my knees in front of my living room TV and worship him.

But here is the thing: assuming the Celtics make the playoffs, the opponents, environments, and situations that they face are going to closely resemble those which make me realize how valuable Irving is and shame the half of me that dared to even consider the possibility of maybe trading Irving. The playoffs will give us a taste of the same the intense, neck-and-neck contests in which Irving has shined and willed the Celtics to victory this season.

And that, simply, is why I am ready to keep Irving and accept the occasional frustrating, deflating, hit-the-panic-button loss. Because when it matters most, Irving gets it done.

(Feel free to comment, I enjoy discussion).

Sources:

Source #1, Boston Celtics Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/bostonceltics/?eid=ARAuxnUZCyrdtYgzuWsf3pRQTyB9r-LdaPxqs7M9xuYeBJOj08D6892XGgmXvH11tbz1KlLLKj-XENeC

Source #2, Boston Celtics subreddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/bostonceltics/comments/a9k2c6/the_celtics_have_won_on_christmas_day_everybody/

Source #3, Joe DeFerrari article on Celtics with and without Irving: https://hardwoodhoudini.com/2018/09/02/kyrie-irving-make-boston-celtics-better/

Source #4, Kyrie Irving stats: http://www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/6442/kyrie-irving

Source #5, Terry Rozier stats: http://www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/3074752/terry-rozier

Source #6, Boston Celtics schedule: https://www.nba.com/celtics/schedule

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