What’s good for Kyrie Irving doesn’t necessarily benefit the Boston Celtics.
FOX Sports analyst Nick Wright admitted Wednesday on “First Things First” this point actually might have merit. The blowout loss the Toronto Raptors inflicted Wednesday night on Boston dropped the Celtics’ record to 37-24 this season, but they’re 9-2 in games Irving sat out in 2018-19. The disparity has become more pronounced this month.
The “Are the Celtics better without Kyrie Irving?” debate has flared in recent weeks. Wright didn’t appear to take a side, but he did weigh in on the Celtics’ dueling identities.
“It is one of the more inexplicable stats throughout the NBA season, is that the Celtics have been better when Kyrie has been out, Wright said. “But they have been uncanny in their ability when they are the team they were in the playoffs last year. All it takes is removing Kyrie from the lineup for a game … because Gordon Hayward is not a big factor for this team one way or the other. As soon as that happens, they become the team that was a game away from the Finals last year.
“… I can’t explain that, because I actually think Kyrie is having the best year of his career, so it doesn’t make sense. But we now have a big enough sample, there is something to that.”
Irving is averaging 23.5 points and career highs in rebounds (4.8 per game) and assists (6.9). However, the underachieving Celtics own the Eastern Conference’s fifth-best record and might struggle to return to the conference finals, let alone reach the NBA Finals, when the postseason begins.
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