The Boston Celtics have to find a way to score without Kyrie Irving
The Boston Celtics won a see-saw game against the Brooklyn Nets last night. It seemed every time the Celtics built a 5 to10 point lead, the Nets stormed back to to tie. “Pesky” is probably the right word to describe the Nets this season as they have lost close games to good teams, like the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic.
While the Celtics starters played well, the bench shot a combined 4/26 from the field. With Kyrie Irving struggling through wearing a face mask, this was a game that could’ve ended the win streak had Irving not played. Now, the Celtics do have a lot of talented bodies, enough so they have been able to find different heroes every night.
However, players like Terry Rozier, who have been great on both ends of the floor through the win streak, hold career averages in offensive categories that do not indicate he can continue the carry the Celtics bench. For his career, Rozier shoots 34.9% from the field and 31% from beyond the arc.
While Marcus Smart has improved his shooting, do we trust it for the whole season? Simply, we should expect Irving to shoulder a bigger offensive load as the season continues.
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As Tommy Heinsohn often says, Stevens uses Irving as a weapon, deploying him a key points throughout games. Most games, Irving sits the majority of 3rd quarter and almost half of the 4th. Irving usually enters the game with 5 or 6 minutes to go in the 4th quarter, just in time for “crunch time.” Similarly, Irving will usually plays the whole first quarter as to help Celtics gain or fight for a lead. While Stevens keep Irving’s substitutions in this predictable pattern, it is necessary for the Celtics to be successful.
The Celtics hero last night was arguably Marcus Morris. Morris scored 21 points and grabbed 21 rebounds as a starter. ESPN’s Chris Forsberg quotes Stevens relaying Morris’ impact on the win, saying, “ never wants to come out. But, no, we need his scoring. If you look at where we are right now as a team, what our biggest needs are, shooting and scoring from another guy is huge, so Marcus, we’re gonna need him. So it was good to really see him make those biggest plays late.”
Morris is particularly important when one of our stars is out or injured. He is a veteran presence and someone who can guard multiple positions. He also seems to not be afraid to create his own shot, something the Celtics will need when Irving is not playing.
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Stevens will never admit he cares about the win streak, but for fans who do care, it will be interesting to see how Stevens manages Irving and if key role players, like Rozier, continue to perform as they have been.