Hardwood Houdini
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Kyrie Irving’s Dribbling Will not be an Issue

By Joshua Bateman

PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 6: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics handles the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers on October 6, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Wells Fargo Center. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 6: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics handles the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers on October 6, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Wells Fargo Center. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Kyrie Irving is already showing signs of making adjustments in the Boston Celtics offense

The Boston Celtics brought Kyrie Irving in knowing he would be one of the most special offensive talents in the NBA, but he did not come without questions. There was all the talk about the different styles of play from Cleveland to Boston, and many doubted his ability and willingness to adapt his game to better accommodate what Brad Stevens wants to do.

One of the bigger concerns was over dribbling. The Celtics never want ball stoppers in their offense, and it is vital that the ball is constantly moving and being touched by as many players as possible.

Everyone knows how special Irving is in isolation, and you know he is going to bail the team out on countless occasions with his ability to go out and manufacture offense by himself.

The concern comes when the offense is functioning well, and avoiding having Irving disrupt rhythm because he over dribbles, attempting to create a shot all by himself when he does not have to.

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So far, it appears as though the transition will be seamless for Irving. He is generating and instigating some of the best ball movement we have seen under Stevens, and it has been just two preseason games.

We are seeing phenomenal off ball movement by Irving, who looks like a man that is ready to embrace every part of this offense, and he is not going to let himself get in the way of anything.

Obviously Irving is known for having all time handles, and his ability to dribble creates a ton of offense. The issue is not eliminating that from Irving’s game entirely, the issue is making sure that any time he is using his handles like that, it is for a purpose.

The Celtics do not want Irving to be dribbling around, hoping that something might open up for him to exploit. Instead, Irving needs to make sure that every time he gets into that isolation dribbling, it is because it will help create the best possible opportunity for the offense.

There will inevitably be times when Irving becomes that ball stopper. For a player as talented as him, there will be those times when he puts everything on himself, and then his dribbling becomes one of his best tools in finding that tiny bit of space.

The key is that cannot be the emphasis. Irving needs to find the better and new ways to use that dribbling, to draw in the help defenders, opening up things for other players.

So far, Irving has shown no indications of being that kind of ball stopper, and his willingness to adapt his game is quite clear at this point.

Irving has the talent to do so many different things for this offense, and when he resorts to that ball stopping over dribbling, he is ripping out all kinds of different opportunities for the offense.

We are still in the process of discovering exactly how Irving will be used, and exactly how much damage he can do on the offensive end, creating for both himself and his teammates.

Next: Boston Celtics: The Question of Pace

After just two preseason games, it is impossible not to get excited about the kind of offense that is being created with Irving running the show, and if this is just the beginning then we could see another undiscovered level for Irving before the season is done.

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